Switched Fates
by Shadow1001
Summary: "I heard that the daughter of the company that built this island is running for president!" "Daughter of the…? Oh, you mean the Takeba Group." Fates have been switched, stories have changed, and shadows have emerged. Welcome to the alternate world of Persona.
1. Chapter 1

"I heard that the daughter of the company that built this island is running for president!"

"Daughter of the…? Oh, you mean the Takeba Group."

Fates have been switched, stories have changed, and shadows have emerged. Welcome to the alternate world of Persona 3.

 **April 6, 2009**

Under the moonlight of Iwatodai, it was quite busy. A blue-haired boy walked down the street, looking at a map to hopefully find the dorm he was supposed to stay at. He continued walking, avoiding people who were not watching where they were going. He was wearing a pair of clip-on headphones and had an mp3 player so he could drown out all the noise. He was also wearing a grey pea coat and dark jeans.

It wasn't long until midnight came around, and that's when everything changed. The world, as if it got a new paint job, turned green. Blood was splattered everywhere and every single electronic device stopped functioning, including stop lights, trains, anything that requires electricity. Then there was the people; all of them disappeared with coffins in their place. Every single person, except for the blue-haired boy.

"…This town is so noisy, it's amazing that it can become this silent," the boy said aloud to himself. He then looked up at the moon that seemed to have increased in size. "Huh, the moon is even bigger here than in Shizuoka..."

The boy continued walking until he heard an odd sound. He turned his head towards where he heard the sound, which was in a nearby alley. The boy raised his shirt slightly and underneath was a knife attached to his pants. He took it out of its holder and quietly walked into the alley. There he saw a man in front of an open coffin and he was cornered by a black-sludge thing with a mask. The black-sludge thing jumped on the man who let out a scream. The boy just watched as the black-sludge thing seemingly devoured the man before jumping off. The man was no longer functioning and was simply staring, devoid of life.

"Another person to join the Lost," The boy said to himself, aloud again. Finished with the man, the black-sludge thing directed its attention to him and charged. The boy simply sidestepped and kicked it to the wall. Wasting no time he dashed and stabbed the black-sludge thing's mask, making it dissolve into ichor. The boy put his knife back into its holder under his shirt and continued on his way to the dorm.

After walking and noting possible shortcuts, he at last arrived at the dorm which for some reason the lights were on despite the strange hour still in effect. The boy entered quietly and cautiously, hoping he wouldn't wake anyone up and at the same time on guard for any sudden surprises. But not even he was ready to see a ghostly white young boy in striped pajamas behind the dorm counter to the left.

"You're late," the young boy said, smiling creepily. Before the boy could respond, the pale boy continued. "Oh well. It doesn't matter. Now if you would, just sign this." The boy approached the counter and looked at the sheet of paper. A contract. That was written in English, old English to be precise.

 _I chooseth this fate of mine own free will._

"There is nothing to worry about, it simply means that you will take responsibility for your actions," the young boy said. The boy just took the quill pen and wrote his name in English, since the contract was in English.

 _Arisato Minato_

"Hehehe," the young boy giggled as he clutched the piece of paper closely to his chest, making the boy, Minato, afraid that he just signed his soul to the devil and perhaps he shouldn't ever sign a contract at midnight ever again. He should have at least checked for fine print. "Take as much time as you want, time will never wait for anyone. After all, we will all be delivered to the same end." And with that the boy disappeared and darkness enveloped the room.

Minato just stared at where the boy once was. He was gone and so was any proof that he existed.

The only explanation for everything that happened was delayed trains and tired.

"Excuse me," Minato's head turned ever so slightly in the direction of the sudden voice.

* * *

12 Hours prior…

Mitsuru Kirijo was a very busy woman. She was the captain of the fencing team and was preparing for the elections for the Student Council. This was her first time going for president, and she truly hoped she would be able to get elected. Especially since she was going against Yukari Takeba, who was also running for President. Despite being her underclassman, she held a fair amount of respect towards Takeba. She was the daughter of Eichiro Takeba, the head of the Takeba Group who were the ones who built Tatsumi Port Island for a reason unknown to the skeptics.

Yukari Takeba was extremely busy and popular. She was never a member of the Student Council in prior years, unlike Mitsuru herself who was a previous Vice President. Mitsuru wouldn't deny that she was also a bit envious of Takeba. Takeba had everything she didn't. She was very popular, so popular that Mitsuru had a feeling she would win the elections just by introducing herself.

Takeba also had both her father and her mother. Both of Mitsuru's parents were currently deceased, and she had been living in school dorms all her life. But she knew that Takeba had a lot of work to do for the Takeba Group even though she was only a junior. Just not nearly enough as an independent woman like Mitsuru herself. Of course, judging someone on such basis was not an admirable trait. Something she knew thanks to her deceased father.

Takeba was also a bit-no a lot, more social than Mitsuru and had a lot of friends. How many of those friends were genuine, Mitsuru did not know. Mitsuru knew she was more academically intelligent than Takeba, but that was it. Part-time jobs was her method of gaining income and she was saving up for a motorcycle, but that was quite difficult since she had to pay for a lot of other necessities. Why did she want a motorcycle? A personal thing. Mitsuru was aware she was popular, but not a single person could compare to Takeba.

Right now however, she was currently on her way back to the dorm she lived in, which was accompanied by four other people. Two being fellow seniors and a first year she's known for many years and the other being none other than Yukari Takeba. However, at the moment she was also working for Takeba.

"Mitsuru," the voice snapped Mitsuru out of her thoughts as she was currently in her room. She looked up towards the door and saw Takeba standing there.

"Takeba, what can I do for you?" Mitsuru asked, standing up from her bed. She knew Takeba was particularly busy this week, though she did not know why. So this must be important.

"Dad told me about a last minute transfer. I just thought you should know," Takeba explained. She seemed to be waiting for Mitsuru to respond.

And respond she did. "A transfer? To this dorm? Does that mean…?"

Takeba nodded. "My dad said he's a special case and Ikutsuki will be coming to monitor him." Takeba walked over to her and handed her a file. "These are his files, please read them when you have the time." Takeba turned around and left quickly, in a rush it seemed. It almost looked like she was fleeing.

Mitsuru retained her neutral expression. The two weren't close by any means, but they didn't hate each other. They were considered to be rivals by the schools' perspective but they weren't. They just both happened to be popular and running for president.

Mitsuru opened the file folder and pulled out a couple of papers. The papers were ordered from present to past and in there was a photo of him pinned to the paper. His name was Minato Arisato and he had long blue-hair and silver eyes. If any regular person saw how he looked, they would most likely assume he was emo, but she knew all too well that looks can be very deceiving.

She quickly scanned the papers, looking for anything unusual. He was tossed around from relative to relative, living in different parts of Japan, living overseas a few times. Whether or not the relatives just didn't want him or if it was because of an event, it wasn't classified in the papers. She blinked when she read the 1999 part.

 _Biological parents died in a car crash on the Moonlight Bridge in Iwatodai._

Mitsuru frowned as she recognized that date. That was the day after her father died, except he died in an explosion on the island. 1999. And even if it was technically day after, the time was midnight. It was hard to believe that this was a coincidence. Her father's death, his parents' death, and now he was returning to the very city this occurred in, and herself joining Takeba's Club. This wasn't a coincidence, but at the moment, Mitsuru had no way of obtaining answers.

Mitsuru put the files back into the folder and placed them on top of her books and looked back at her room. Her room wasn't anything special but that was fine with her. She's seen Takeba's room and it was a room fitted for an Empress. It had couches, a large flat screen TV, and other luxuries. Mitsuru didn't really see the need for all that extra stuff but she understood the want for such a luxury. She however was just fine with a mini fridge, a small TV, a bed, and a desk. Mitsuru was also aware of the secret camera hidden in each room, after all she was the one who was in charge of the monitors in the command room. As for why she didn't get rid of the camera in her room, was still a mystery to her. It just always seemed to slip her mind.

Mitsuru now had to figure out where the new transfer student should stay. All the available rooms were completely disorganized at the moment.

Or so she thought. When she opened the door to the room at the end of the hall on the second floor, there were plenty of cardboard boxes, which would most likely belong to the transfer student. Mitsuru wondered when the movers even arrived without her noticing. Now she just needed to wait for the transfer student, who would be arriving around 10:00pm. Just before that time struck, giving them time to observe him.

* * *

It was almost midnight and the transfer student still had not arrived. Mitsuru was sitting in the lounge, waiting for the transfer student. "Maybe his train was delayed?" Mitsuru whispered to herself. That was a logical explanation, after all, no one could be lost for almost two hours. Especially since he should have a map on him.

When midnight struck, all the lights turned off and darkness enveloped the world. Mitsuru looked towards the door, wondering if she should leave and search for him. After all, if he does have the potential, then he will be completely unstable and may get attacked. She reached for something on her waist; a gun with the letters SEES. She heard the sound of shuffling and looked towards the door but saw nothing unusual. She raised the gun to her head before hearing a childlike voce.

"I wouldn't do that…"

Mitsuru spun in the direction of the counter where the sign-in sheet was. She saw nothing however and wondered if she was becoming paranoid due to lack of sleep.

She heard another sound and this time it was the door closing. Mitsuru looked back at the door and saw no one. Another sound echoed the room, this time the sound of paper. Looking back at the counter again, she nearly jumped as she saw a boy with long blue-hair suddenly standing there. Mitsuru briefly wondered when he entered but decided she was simply tired. Or perhaps the Dark Hour had more secrets. She took a step towards him, placing the gun back in its holster.

"Excuse me," the boy turned around surprisingly fast and seemed surprised at her appearance. "Are you perchance Arisato Minato?"

As soon as she asked that, the lights turned on, surprising her of how long she had been waiting. Of course, she didn't show any surprise and stared evenly at the boy. The boy glanced up at the lights before looking at her with a similar stare.

"Yeah, I was told this was the dorm I would be staying in. I wasn't aware that it was a girl's dorm however," Minato tilted his head. Mitsuru noted he was subtly asking if it was indeed a girl's dorm. She'd have to be careful around him.

"This is a co-ed dorm. There are currently only five residents, six counting you."

Minato raised a brow. "So few? In a huge dorm like this?"

"This dorm was recently built and is for special students," Mitsuru explained.

"Special? How-" Minato stopped himself from asking the question, as it seemed he had realized the answer. Mitsuru would have to be _very_ careful around him. He shook his head. "Anyways, can I go to my room? I'm a bit tired."

Mitsuru nodded but then realized a sudden problem. It appeared Takeba had made a slight oversight when assigning her to greet the transfer student. "Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hall but I do not have your key. Allow me to…" As soon as Mitsuru said that, footsteps were heard behind her and the sound of keys jingling echoed. The two turned towards the staircase and saw Takeba, who was spinning the key on her fingers, since it was on a keychain with her other keys.

"I have your key right here transfer student," Takeba said. "I'll show you where your room is."

Minato nodded and walked towards Takeba who started walking back up the stairs. Minato paused and turned around suddenly making Mitsuru raise a brow. "What's your name?"

Mitsuru was surprised at the sudden question but quickly recomposed herself. An error, she realized. She had forgotten to introduce herself. Whenever you meet someone and plan to hold a conversation, you always introduce herself. Another basic form of manners taught by her father. "Mitsuru Kirijo, your senior."

Minato nodded. "Goodnight Miss Kirijo," and with that Minato followed Yukari. When they were out of earshot, Mitsuru let out a tired sigh as she started to process what had happened this night.

* * *

Minato was extremely tired. He was surprised, sure, when he saw a woman in the dorm he was supposed to be staying in, but was still tired. He also usually had good manners and would always be polite, but he was so tired that he forgot his manners, since he forgot to ask the woman's name during their introduction. Or would it really be called an introduction, since she seemed to already know who he was and he didn't even introduce himself. And now he was following another girl to his assigned room.

"Alright, this is your room, at the end of the hall. Pretty easy to remember huh?" The girl said. Minato simply nodded. "By the way, I'm Yukari Takeba. I'm a junior, like you."

Not bothering to ask how she knew he was a junior just like with the senior downstairs, Minato decided to introduce himself. "Minato Arisato."

Yukari took the key out of her key ring and held it out. When Minato reached for it, she quickly retracted her hand, making Minato do everything he could to not growl in annoyance. "Hey, on your way here, was there anything, y'know, unusual?"

Minato blinked and replayed all the events that happened in his mind. After replaying the events that occurred twice, there was only one thing that stood out. But he knew better than to just ask the question straight out, since it would make him seem delusional.

"Nothing that I can think of," Minato answered. There really wasn't anything unusual. Well, except for the fact that the two girls had guns. "Actually, why do you have a gun?"

Yukari seemed surprised by the question." Huh? Uh, well, er…how do I explain it? Uh, it's for self defense. Lots of crimes have been occurring lately. These aren't real though but they would give us the advantage of any situation, get what I mean?" Minato simply nodded, doubting the given explanation. "Any other questions?"

"Who else lives in this dorm? Miss Kirijo told me that there were five other residents. So you and her would make two, who are the other three?" If one of the people were who Minato thought it was, this was one messed up dorm.

"Oh, well two are seniors like Mitsuru and the third is a girl a year younger than us. You'll run into them soon enough. One of them is a bit scary though so be careful," Yukari answered, looking at a room down the hall.

Minato frowned at the response. That didn't sound anything like the kid with the English contract. And that contract itself was a bad sign, and now there was a ghost who appeared only in that time it seemed. At least the dorm wasn't as messed up at it probably will reveal itself to be.

"You must be getting tired," Yukari held out her hand again and Minato snatched the key quickly this time. "Well, goodnight." Yukari walked down the hall while Minato entered his room, ready to fall on his bed to get some much-deserved sleep. Who needs to unpack?

* * *

The next morning Mitsuru took a sip of her morning tea in the lounge reading a French book. She always thought it worthwhile to expand her knowledge to different languages. That way she could enjoy modern literature in different languages.

It was still fairly early, so when she heard a certain, low groan from the stairs she looked up in surprise. "Tch, can't believe she set my alarm so early…"

Mitsuru placed her book down and greeted the tall teenager. "Shinjiro, good morning."

"Wouldn't call it 'good' exactly." Shinjiro ran a head through his long hair as he sat in the couch opposite of Mitsuru after grabbing a cup of plain water.

Mitsuru smiled in amusement. "I'm glad to see you won't be late today."

"Hmph. I'm guessing Aki's left already?" Mitsuru nodded. "Anyone else?"

Mitsuru shook her head. "No one else. The transfer student and Takeba are still in their rooms."

"Transfer? When was I going to hear about this?"

"I was only informed yesterday. I can go grab his files if you wish."

Shinjiro put a hand up as Mitsuru was about to stand. "Don't. His business. As long as he doesn't get in my way." Shinjiro paused. "Anyways, that's two. What about her? She gone yet?"

"Still here. Akihiko was counting on us to take her to school."

Shinjiro let out a 'tch' though Mitsuru knew he wasn't actually bothered. After all, they all grew up together in the same orphanage. "She changed my alarm only for her to sleep in?"

"Like brother, like sister, hm?" Mitsuru chuckled.

"No kidding. But this is a new low, even for her." Mitsuru watched as Shinjiro pulled out a pocket watch from his maroon pea coat pocket before returning it carefully.

"Hm, perhaps I should ask her to make this a habit." Mitsuru resisted smirking at the death glare Shinjiro was giving her. After all, neither were much for jokes. Threats are very real between them.

"Um, good morning." The two seniors broke their staring contest and turned towards the stairs to see Takeba adjusting her ribbon with her hand bag while walking to the door.

"Good morning Takeba." Mitsuru responded while Shinjiro simply grunted. Takeba shifted awkwardly before preparing to open the door to leave. "Takeba, what about the transfer student?" Mitsuru was under the impression that Takeba would take him to school.

"I have to do some things for the preparations for my campaign. Can you show him the way?"

"I also have to prepare for my campaign," Mitsuru pointed out.

She watched as Takeba looked away and let out a quiet mutter. "Oh, right…"

Takeba left the dorm without saying another word, leaving Mitsuru and Shinjiro alone in silence. Mitsuru stood up and grabbed her own hand bag. "Can I entrust you to take care of the transfer student?"

"Me? If you don't want him to be scared shitless on his first day, then he's better off on his own." Shinjiro mumbled, taking a large gulp of his water.

Mitsuru sighed and looked towards the stairs. "Can you ask Sanada?"

"…Ask her yourself."

"Thank you." Mitsuru ignored Shinjiro's response and stepped out the dorm, leaving him alone in the lounge.

The moment she stepped out the pleasant spring breeze greeted her, allowing her hair to blow in the wind. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the upcoming year.

She had a feeling things weren't going to be normal anymore.

* * *

 **"Man, what an interesting take on the Persona 3 novelisation!"**

 **Yeah too bad it ended up being me who thought of this idea. I wrote the first 3/4 of this chapter on February 7, 2015 and never ended up being able to do much. Which is a shame because this might be my favourite idea for the Persona Series. So instead of letting it collect even more digital dust, I decided to publish it. So yeah, don't get any hopes up or anything. If anything I'll be adding bits here and there whenever I can but definitely not a frequent update story because, well I've become so busy that the free time I do have is spent sleeping :P And if I do update, it won't be long, detailed chapters on levels with EternalCombOver or Solid Shark but more short, 3-4k words. If anything it'd be like my Reborn Links story where I just write events that I personally would like to see with this idea.**

 **I would say excuse the poor grammar mistakes and whatnot...but there's no such thing as an excuse for poor grammar.**

 **I hope at the very least you enjoyed what you read here. After all, who doesn't like a good Mitsuru story? Even if it's one chapter of pure nothingness.**

 **Mitsuru artwork on cover art:** ** _MITSURU KIRIJO-Persona 3_** **by TRANS1ST0R on DeviantART**


	2. Chapter 2

**April 7, 2009**

Minato stood up straight and stared at himself in the mirror. Reflected was himself wearing a school uniform, the emblem essentially glowing on his chest. It wouldn't take anyone a second glance to know he was going to the prestigious Gekkoukan High School, where the teachers were experts in their field of study and the amount of resources better than any other high school in the country.

Of course, not every rumour should be believed. With his usual blank expression, he smoothed out his soft hair while returning to his usual slouch. Things were becoming strange, he noted, for he had received a scholarship for an impressive school and sent to a dorm where there were others who were conscious during the strange hour. Not to mention there was the contract which as far as he could tell had no actual relevance to the dormitory or the scholarship he received. After all, any paperwork was already dealt with.

And then there's the fact that the school he was attending was built shortly after his parent's death.

If he was to believe this was all a coincidence, then it was one hell of a coincidence.

Minato looked towards his wristwatch and confirmed the time. He should be able to make it to the school on time without any problems, if he didn't get lost.

Stepping out of his room, Minato just closed the door, not bothering to lock it. He had nothing really worthwhile for anyone to steal. Not to mention he had a feeling the dorm was under strict security. Just a hunch.

When he stepped down into the lounge, he saw a tall, gruff-looking teenager standing next to a much shorter girl by comparison. Silver hair that was shorter than Miss Kirijo and longer than Takeba. Her hair rested on both her shoulders. She was wearing the female variant of his uniform with a small ribbon that represented her year. However, what stood out to him the most was the obvious amount of foundation that made her face look like the perfect doll and idol for any young man.

The tall teen looked over to him with a stern gaze. "You're here. Come on, let's get going."

The girl gave the tall teen an annoyed stare before meeting Minato's eyes. "I'm Miki Sanada, you're underclassman. I'll be in your care."

She finished with a bow and Minato nodded in return. "I'm Minato Arisato. Nice to meet you."

When Sanada realized the tall teen wasn't going to introduce himself, she gave him a jab with her elbow. "This is Shinjiro Aragaki. He's a third-year so he's both our upperclassman."

Minato again noted that he hadn't mentioned what year he was in yet they seemed to already know. It was likely the information that a new dorm mate was coming so they tried to learn more about him. Whether it was to be more comfortable around him or some other hidden agenda, only time will tell.

"Nice to meet you," Minato responded politely as he did with Sanada. He recalled Takeba mentioning something about one of the residents being scary and Aragaki definitely fit the bill.

"Let's go. Unless you two want to be late on the first day."

Minato shared a glance with Sanada, silently asking if Aragaki always spoke so passive-aggressive. To which she nodded with a smile and started to walk by Aragaki's side and Minato followed silently.

* * *

"I shall count on you then." Mitsuru turned around swiftly as she handed a fellow junior with swept black hair a stack of papers. He was only in his second year yet was very impressive as a public speaker and was very capable at retaining order. The previous year disciplinary chairman recommended him as at the very least a member of the Disciplinary Committee. Thus, Mitsuru chose him as the person who would give her campaign speech.

Under normal circumstances, which was her middle school student council, she would give the speech herself. But she understood that this is also a popularity competition. And while she was well-known, she didn't have nearly as many friends as Takeba did. So, if she got someone as popular as Odagiri to assist her, it would help her greatly.

The students weren't completely incapable of making a decision based on logic. They should be able to see who would be able to push the school forward into a new direction.

Though Mitsuru had to admit, she didn't expect Takeba to actually take the campaign as seriously as she did. Already preparing for the elections was a surprise. Mitsuru was hoping she'd get the advantage by preparing in advance but it appears this was going to be a difficult fight.

"Hey, Mitsuru." Mitsuru turned around at the familiar voice. Walking coolly towards her with his uniform jacket over his shoulder was her old friend.

"Akihiko," she greeted with a nod. "I'm surprised you left without your sister."

Akihiko shrugged before slipping on his uniform jacket. "I trust Shinji. If anything, she's probably going to drag him here."

Mitsuru closed her eyes and smiled. "Yes. Let's hope she also drags the transfer student here as well."

Akihiko furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. "Transfer student? To our dorm? Now this is something you should tell me."

Mitsuru let out a sigh. "I was only told the day he arrived. According to Takeba it was a last-minute transfer."

"Come on…it's been two years. She could have told all of us," Akihiko sighed.

"She's been very busy. Remember, she's still our junior yet has more responsibilities than we could imagine."

"We're all busy," Akihiko quickly pointed out. "But…yeah I understand. Elections aren't for a while, but good luck. You have my vote."

"Thank you." Mitsuru watched Akihiko walk away, fumbling with his uniform jacket. He never really wore it properly. Perhaps being a senior sparked some sort of change? Letting out a huff of amusement, Mitsuru started walking to the assembly hall where the principal would give his school beginning speech.

As for why she didn't get Akihiko to do her campaign speech for her, she wasn't oblivious to his fan club. They might vote for her if Akihiko was supporting her, or they might purposely _not_ vote for her because Akihiko was supporting her. Odagiri was the safest bet.

Mitsuru stopped completely when a strange sensation filled her head. Looking around, Mitsuru couldn't see anything out of the ordinary at first, until her eyes landed on a girl with hair as red as hers. There was something about her but she couldn't say what it was. In fact, if it weren't for her very own eyes she wasn't sure if she would have noticed her despite her eye-catching hair colour.

Realizing she didn't have time to ponder, she quickly entered the assembly hall, taking note of the girl's ribbon size.

* * *

"Yo! How's it going?"

Minato stared blankly at the extended hand. Cautiously, he accepted the handshake while wondering what was up with this baseball-cap guy who didn't even bother to wear the tie with the uniform.

"Junpei Iori, at your service!"

A nice guy with the look of delinquency. Minato questioned his true motives. Not many people came out of their way to talk to him at first. His hairstyle made sure of that.

"What do you want?" Minato finally asked after taking his hand back from the handshake.

Junpei recoiled comically from the bluntness before rubbing the back of his head. "I transferred here myself a few years ago so I know what it's like being the new kid. So, I decided to come break the ice! See what a nice guy I am?"

Minato had met his fair share of people, but Junpei was definitely a first of his kind. Minato opened his mouth to respond but it wasn't his voice that came out of it.

"Do you ever stop to wonder if you're bothering someone?" Minato was surprised to see the famous Takeba enter the classroom and walk over to the two of them. Minato learned just uncomfortable it was having the eyes of every single person in the classroom staring at your back.

"Hey, if it isn't Yuka-tan! How's the prep for the elections going?"

Junpei, Minato noted, was close to the famous Takeba if the nickname was anything to go by. Perhaps he should get closer to Junpei to stay on her good side.

"Funny coincidence, huh? The two of ending up in the same class."

She outright ignored Junpei. Maybe he should stay far away from Junpei as possible.

A coincidence though? Was it really? "Hm, I guess."

She seemed to accept that before looking apologetic. "Sorry I couldn't show you the way to school. I'm running for president so…" She stopped when she noticed Junpei's shocked expression that formed instantaneously. "…What?"

"Show you the way to school…? You two know each other!?"

"Huh? We just live in the same dorm…"

"Huh!?"

Minato witnessed one of the nastiest glares he's ever seen. What was more impressive was that Junpei wasn't even bothered by it. "Listen. We met last night and that's it. Don't go spreading rumours."

Junpei put both his hands behind his head and leaned back with a grin. "Don't worry, I won't say anything." Minato glanced at some of the other students to see them whispering. What had he gotten himself into?

"Junpei, I'm serious!"

"Jeez, don't worry! I was just joking around!" Takeba gave him one final glare before leaving the classroom quickly. "Not like anyone takes rumours seriously."

"You two seem close," Minato pointed out, hoping to probe for some information.

Junpei shrugged. "We were desk buddies last year."

Seeing he wasn't going to get anything else out of him, Minato stood up and left. He noticed Junpei walk over to another girl in the classroom. Unlike the other students, she was by herself drawing on a sketchpad. Her red hair stood out compared to everyone else and reminded him of Kirijo.

When Minato arrived by the shoe lockers, he saw a familiar silver-haired girl and gruff-looking teen. It was because of them his current reputation was weird. He heard the whispers. People saw him with Aragaki, so associated him with either being a delinquent or a friend of Sanada. Though it seemed like they were referring to a different Sanada then the girl in front of him.

Being seen with Sanada made people wonder if they were dating. And now thanks to what happened with Takeba, things were going to be even stranger. Perhaps annoying is a better word.

Regardless, he still approached them. Mostly because Sanada waved to him and turning away would have made things worse. "Minato, want to walk with us back to the dorm? We can even show you around!"

Minato gave a glance to Aragaki who looked away. Shrugging, Minato nodded. "Sure. I appreciate it."

* * *

"Ugh…"

"Tch, I told you not to get carried away."

Minato watched in amusement as Aragaki returned to the lounge with a glass of water. The current situation had Minato sitting on one of the lounge couches next to an ill-looking Miki Sanada with Aragaki no longer wearing his pea coat and was instead wearing his own Gekkoukan uniform.

"I thought I would have gotten better…"

Aragaki placed a hand on his forehead. "You're just as headstrong as your brother. And that ain't a good thing." Sanada smiled weakly before taking a sip of water. Minato learned from Aragaki that when it comes to fast food, Sanada easily became sick. As a result, she threw up on Aragaki. "We should have gone for ramen…"

"You and brother, ramen addicts." Sanada shook her head lightly in amusement before recoiling. "Besides, we need to show Minato everything Iwatodai and Port Island have to offer!"

"He can go get a peta-wac anytime on his own. Or with someone else. Don't go getting sick for a reason as stupid as that."

Sanada sighed. "You're being annoying again, Shinji."

"Tch."

It was a strange atmosphere; one Minato hadn't felt in a long time. A very familial atmosphere. Minato let himself smile at the two as they continued their friendly banter.

Of course, he knew there was more to these two than they were showing. They were residents of this dorm. A dorm that seemed to house people who were awake during the strange time. He'd have to be extra careful during that time.

But maybe for now he'll revel in the comforting atmosphere of lies and masks.

* * *

 **Huh. Decided to write a second chapter to see how it will go and it was…short. 2k words. But man was it easy to write. Maybe I can actually update this story every now and then if they're this short. Short isn't terrible. Just think of this story as a bunch of short (very short) stories.**

 **One purpose for this idea of "switched fates" was to see interactions we never really got to see. In this case, Shinjiro and Miki and Minato…okay I just wanted more Shinjiro. The Mitsuru part was kind of pointless though and I was about to delete it but eh, I decided to leave it in. It gave some insight to the difference between her and Yukari, though I did that last chapter.**

 **Maybe I should delete it before I upload this chapter…**

 **HMM I SURE WONDER WHO THAT RED-HAIRED GIRL WHO LIKES TO DRAW IS. I WONDER.**

 **Yeah, I'm not trying to be subtle in this story, because really what's the point? We all know the story of Persona 3 and its characters.**

 **And Junpei. He sure seems normal, doesn't he? Looks like no switch for him…**

 **Also my plan for this story was a day a chapter. So…huh. Over 300 chapters…**


	3. Chapter 3

**April 7, 2009 – Dark Hour**

Mitsuru stared intently at the extremely large monitor before her. It was currently showing the feed of a certain transfer student's room.

"…"

"…"

Sitting beside her was her leader per se. Takeba was silent as she stared at the transfer student uncomfortably. Mitsuru wasn't sure what to make of it. Was she uncomfortable with invading his privacy? Or did something occur between them during the day?

Regardless, Mitsuru didn't care and performed her duty to the best of her ability. And that was figuring out whether the transfer student had the potential.

Although it was clear he did.

He was half laying on his bed while staring at the ceiling. But he wasn't acting uncomfortable, delirious, or any of the usual symptoms.

"…So looks like dad was right."

"It would seem so." The silence returned as they stared at the monitor, looking for anything out of place.

Suddenly Yukari broke the silence again. "Are Akihiko and Shinjiro still out?"

"I believe so. I have their communicators connected to the central monitor." Below the large, dominant monitor were smaller monitors showing feeds to everywhere a camera was connected to. The center one however was just a black screen.

"Oh. They should probably come back. Better safe than sorry, right?"

Mitsuru looked away from the monitor and nodded. It was indeed risky having them out alone while she remained to observe the transfer student. So she pressed a button and soon Akihiko's voice echoed through the speakers. "What is it?"

"You two should come back. You agreed not to stay out too long today."

"The Dark Hour just started. Give me thirty minutes."

"Akihiko."

"Mitsuru."

"Shut up and let's listen to her."

"Oi, Shinji, whose side are you on?"

"No one's. Come on."

Mitsuru turned off the communicator, knowing how long their banter could last and now sat in silence, trusting Shinjiro to prevent Akihiko from doing anything rash.

Shinjiro would not forgive himself if he did.

The thought caused Mitsuru to grimace and rub her left arm.

Returning her attention to the monitor, Mitsuru realized the transfer student had barely moved since the Hour started. It was clear he was alive with his chest heaving and his eyelids closing occasionally before opening again.

"I think he's suspicious of us…"

Mitsuru placed a hand under her chin to decipher Takeba's words. Quickly she came to the realization of her blunder and grimaced again. "I apologize. I-"

She was interrupted by the quiet sound of wheels on carpet. Takeba was standing and looking down at her with a glare. "I didn't know you met him _during_ the Dark Hour."

Mitsuru opened her mouth to defend herself, but would it be defending? Or making excuses? "I only met him in the last few seconds…"

"And that was enough for him to come to a conclusion. Anyone awake during the Dark Hour is more cautious."

That was far too true. Even though she was conscious for just over two years, it didn't stop the anxiousness within her.

The only thing she could do was bow her head. "I'm sorry."

"This might make things harder. He might not join us because we kept this secret from him for so long. And if he finds out about us spying…"

Mitsuru saw a way out, to make up for her mistake. "Allow me to take the blame."

"Huh?" Takeba looked startled.

"If I take the blame for this then he'll distrust me and have more faith in the rest of SEES. It helps that Shinjiro and Sanada have been doing their best to get closer to him."

"…He'll still be suspicious of us though, won't he? Everyone here is awake during the Dark Hour so he'll know we were all deceiving him from the start."

"But through my actions of...spying, it will be clear to him who the ones with morals are."

Takeba furrowed her brow before nodding hesitantly. She then made way to the exit. "In the end, it will be his decision. And I plan to respect it."

With that, Takeba left leaving Mitsuru alone in the Command Room. Mitsuru knew Takeba would let the transfer student make his decision and accept whatever his decision ends up being. But Mitsuru will do everything she can to get him to join.

Although in her current state, she wasn't sure if that would be enough.

* * *

 **April 8, 2009**

"Um, hello? Are you up?"

Minato's eyes opened at the sound of the familiar voice. He was sitting on his bed listening to his music player. He un-clipped his headphones and let them dangle on his chest. "Yeah, door is unlocked."

Entering his room wearing the same pink sweater from the day prior (or maybe it was a different one), was Yukari Takeba. "Hey, I kinda felt bad about the other day so how about I give you a short tour to make up for it?"

Seeing no reason to refuse, he nodded before standing. The invitation was suspicious, considering how she reacted to rumours involving her. Wasn't giving him a tour alone even worse? Or perhaps Sanada would be joining them?

He quickly found out, no. Sanada would not be joining them and it was a tour for two. But he wasn't going to voice his thoughts. If he was dealing with assassin's who worked during the Dark Hour, he was better off on their good side.

"Have you checked out the Paulownia Mall?"

Minato recalled the name on the pamphlet he had on his first day and shook his head. "Not yet."

"All right, let's go." She could have at least tried to sound like it was a fun idea. Not that he was much better.

The journey to the mall was a strange one. Takeba made small talk but never asked the questions anyone would ask when talking to a new student. Such as "What school did you transfer from?" or "Where was your school going for the school trip?" Instead she asked him about his personality and academics. Which he replied with "average." For both, of course.

In other words it was awkward.

"Hey, do you like karaoke?"

"Yeah."

"Figured, you keep looking at the place. You must really like music, huh?" Was it that obvious? Well his headphones were in plain sight so that might tip people off. "What about sports? Are you interested in any?"

Minato paused to think. "Track, I guess. Swimming is fun too. Kendo isn't bad as well. Baseball's pretty fun. Archery was interesting. Boxing was neat. Fencing was all right."

Minato smiled out of amusement at Takeba's stunned expression. "Wow, you don't seem like the kind of guy who'd be into sports."

Minato shrugged. "Appearances are deceiving." Takeba slightly flinching was expected.

"So you tried archery before?" Takeba tried to change the topic and did so with relative ease.

"Yeah…I wasn't that great at it though. My aim's pretty bad."

"Really?"

"25 meters was the farthest I could hit a target."

Takeba tilted her head. "Isn't that the standard minimum range?"

"Maybe?"

Minato stuffed his hands into his pocket and let out a sigh. He knew next to nothing about archery. Why did Takeba care so much?

"Well as much as I'd like to, club's full so…"

Oh, so she was a member. He should have seen that one coming.

"I think track, kendo, and swimming are the only ones free. Not too sure."

"Then I'll probably go with track." Minato always saw track and field as the most valuable sport. It helped his stamina greatly and that was needed in the dangerous midnight hour. Kendo may help, but he'd need an actual weapon that was not a knife in order to put those skills to the test.

"Yeah? They should be starting…near the end of the month. So check out the Practice Building when you get the chance."

Minato nodded and the two walked side by side to Gekkoukan. He hoped the new rumours won't bother Takeba more than they already have. Otherwise Junpei might not live to his senior year.

* * *

"You're thoughts?"

Shinjiro looked up from his cup of instant ramen. Across from him at the dining table was his elegant orphan buddy, Mitsuru Kirijo.

"Whatever." Shinjiro returned his attention to his ramen.

He could hear Mitsuru's exasperated sigh. "I'll ask again, is he ready for confrontation?"

"Probably. From what you've told me, he probably already knows everything. It isn't that hard to piece two and two together. You're lucky he hasn't decided to leave his room during the Dark Hour."

There was also no point in being vague with their word choice. Even if the transfer student suddenly showed up, it would make things a hell of a lot more convenient and they can stop playing this stupid game.

"I don't want to scare him away. What if he says no?"

"If you didn't want to scare him, then why did you get me to show him around?"

"Hm? I don't understand. Do you see yourself as intimidating?"

Shinjiro felt his eye twitch. "…Just ask him. Ikutsuki's coming anyways, right? We should just get this over with. Don't know what makes this guy so special compared to us. Takeba went up to Aki with the damn gun."

"Except she was really nervous," Mitsuru pointed out making him snort. Recalling the stutters was more annoying than anything.

"It's clear this kid has a Persona. And he sure seems sane."

Mitsuru frowned. "I don't recall mentioning anything about his mental condition…"

"No but you and Takeba are sure implying he might have problems. He's just a normal high school kid like us." Well, normal on the outside. "Before you say any more, let me finish."

Mitsuru obliged and stayed silent while Shinjiro finished his cup. A normal person might have found the silence and being watched while eating awkward, but Shinjiro was used to it after the many ramen dates with Mitsuru. Shinjiro almost snorted at the thought.

As soon as he finished, Mitsuru resumed. "I suppose I'll have to take your word for it."

"Yeah, yeah. And if he says no that's that."

Shinjiro watched as Mitsuru stood up and started climbing the stairs.

"I disagree."

"Huh?" With that, Mitsuru vanished completely up the stairs leaving Shinjiro to ponder her last words. Though that didn't take long for him. "Goddammit you workaholic…"

"Workaholic? What did Mitsuru do this time?" Shinjiro turned around in his seat to see Miki enter the dorm and lazily kicked her shoes off before skipping towards him.

"You'll see," was Shinjiro's response.

"Will I? By the way, where's Mr. Ikutsuki? I thought he was going to be here today?"

Shinjiro deadpanned, wondering how the hell he should know. The only person who would know would be Takeba.

"I heard my name so I came running!" Looking back at the entrance they saw a bespectacled man with long brown hair and a tan jacket. "Shinjiro, Miki, good to see you two are doing just fine!"

"Chairman," Shinjiro greeted with a nod.

"Mr. Ikutsuki!" Miki ran over to him and gave a quick bow.

Ikutsuki laughed. "No need to be so formal Miki! We're all friends here. How's Gekkoukan?"

"It feels the same as middle school," Miki rubbed the back of her head.

"That's to be expected. Gekkoukan Middle School and Gekkoukan High School are essentially the same. But it's only the beginning. Soon you'll see the big difference between middle school and high school. Isn't that right Shinjiro?"

"Maybe." Though Shinjiro had yet to see the difference. Both were filled with the same self-absorbed idiots who couldn't see what was in front of them. Shinjiro walked over to the lounge and took a seat on one of the couches. Miki sat beside him while Ikutsuki sat on the couch opposite of them.

"Anyways, how goes things with the latest subject?"

Shinjiro shrugged while Miki winced. "Subject? Isn't that a bit…"

"Oh, my apologies! I didn't mean anything by that. I've been busy, you see, and it was merely a force of habit."

"Defensive much?" Shinjiro muttered so that neither could hear him. But he didn't care. In a way, with how they were treating the transfer student, he might as well be considered a test subject. The thought made Shinjiro let out a 'tch'. This kind of deception was the type he despised. Not like there was a type of deception he didn't despise.

"How about you two? What are your conclusions?"

Conclusions? To what? They didn't make no goddamn hypothesis. Or maybe Ikutsuki did. "…Seems normal to me."

Miki tilted her head, letting her silver hair fall on Shinjiro's shoulder. "Normal, yeah. Quiet if anything. But I mean, it's not like he'll show us his true colours anytime soon."

Ikutsuki pushed his glasses up and pulled out a small memo pad. "Nothing unusual? No symptoms?"

"Symptoms?" Shinjiro asked but immediately regretted it. He didn't want to learn about the transfer student. Not from someone else's mouth.

"Well his parents died in a car crash... ten or so years ago. He was in it. That had to leave some mental scars."

"So he's like us…" Shinjiro gave Miki a glance as she stared at the coffee table with a scarily apathetic expression.

"It's strange how Persona users these days are orphans who have lost their parents due to tragedy. I wonder if there's a reason for that."

Shinjiro didn't want to point out the one outlier; their "boss". And neither did Miki judging from her silence. So instead he let out another 'tch' and looked to the side. "Well he was normal. Looked fine to me. Mitsuru even said he was fine during the Dark Hour too."

"Hm, if even the Dark Hour doesn't make him unstable, then I suppose we worried for no reason. That's good to know. I look forward to meeting him." Ikutsuki gave a glance towards the stairs. "Is Yukari back?"

"No. Mitsuru and I were the first back," Shinjiro answered.

"I see. Yukari, always the social butterfly, huh?" Ikutsuki chuckled while Shinjiro rolled his eyes. Takeba seemed to interact with just about everyone outside the dorm. Inside the dorm the tension was so thick you couldn't even cut it with a knife.

The door opening again made them all turn towards the entrance to see a familiar blue-haired individual. Miki was the first one to greet him by standing up. "Minato! Welcome home!"

Shinjiro snorted in amusement at the extremely surprised expression on the transfer's face. It was clear he wasn't used to that particular greeting, as depressing as that may sound. It didn't change the fact his expression was amusing.

"…I'm back." They watched as he walked over to the desk to sign the logbook.

Miki walked back to Shinjiro and whispered, "How long do you think it'll take before he stops writing in that thing?"

Shinjiro didn't bother answering, but he would guess a week. He never used that thing once, and neither did Miki. Mitsuru still uses it, while Aki and Takeba used it for a while before stopping.

Soon the transfer was standing in front of them, staring at Ikutsuki. In response, Ikutsuki stood up and extended his hand. "Hello. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki, the Chief Director of your high school. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!"

After the handshake, they waited for a few seconds while the transfer gathered his thoughts. "You're not here just to greet me, right?"

Ikutsuki laughed. "My work has brought me here, but it would have made it sound much more pleasant if I said that was my reason. Anything else?"

The transfer shook his head and Ikutsuki nodded before standing up and pocketing his memo pad. "I was hoping to talk to Yukari but I suppose I'll have to another time."

"Huh? What's the rush?" Miki asked.

"I would like to see how things are going at your school. I'll be back later, don't worry."

Shinjiro watched as Ikutsuki made his way to the door. He thought back to what Mitsuru said and sighed. He could do something about this and end this stupid deception game. "Ikutsuki, wait."

"What is it Shinjiro?"

Shinjiro glanced at the transfer student. "How about we just get this over with?"

Miki and Ikutsuki seemed shocked by this, while the transfer merely raised a brow. "What ever do you mean Shinjiro?"

"I'm pretty sure he already knows. Any more lies will only hurt us."

Ikutsuki put a hand to his chin and pulled out his memo pad again. Minato Arisato, can you guess what we're talking about?"

Shinjiro stared at the transfer as he looked between all of them, clearly debating in his head what to say. "I'm going to guess you're talking about…the midnight hour?"

"Midnight hour. What a peculiar name." Ikutsuki scribbled that down on his pad. "May I ask your reasoning behind that name?"

Shinjiro furrowed his brow in annoyance. What did this have to do with anything? They just got confirmation he was awake during the Dark Hour. They should be focusing on explaining SEES to him.

"It's pretty self-explanatory…an extra hour that occurs at midnight, between midnight and the second after midnight. What do you call it?"

"The Dark Hour," Ikutsuki said offhandedly while writing down what the transfer said on his pad. Why, Shinjiro had no idea.

"Um, don't we have more important things to talk about? Like Shadows?" Miki said, returning Ikutsuki's focus to where it should have been.

"Then let's talk about that. Have you ever encountered a Shadow before, Minato? After all, you have been aware of the Dark Hour for quite some time, correct?"

The transfer nodded before answering. "If you're referring to the monsters, then yeah. I manage to kill the smaller ones with a combat knife…anything bigger I end up running."

"I see. Fascinating." Shinjiro was getting irritated but managed to contain himself. "Then what if we told you we have a way of fighting the Shadows with relative ease? At least, easier then getting close and personal with a knife."

The transfer didn't say anything but stare at Ikutsuki, silently asking him to continue. "Through the power of the mind and soul, the power of Persona, we are able to combat Shadows. As you know, only a select few are conscious during the Dark Hour, and even fewer possess the potential. You happen to be one of those few, along with everyone residing in this dorm. Together, they form the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, SEES for short."

"On paper we're a school club but secretly we fight shadows!" Miki finished by punching the air, similar to her brother, much to Shinjiro's amusement and annoyance.

Although that's something Shinjiro would never understand. How the hell did they get away with a club name like that? People and their connections...

It seemed the transfer had similar thoughts for he furrowed his brow for a moment before retaining his blank expression. "So you want me to join…this SEES to fight Shadows?"

Ikutsuki nodded in glee. "Precisely! I'm glad you're quick to understand! I know it's a difficult decision, as you will be dedicating a lot of time for the cause, but it will be worth it because Shadows are the cause of Apathy Syndrome. Fighting Shadows means getting rid of Apathy Syndrome! Isn't that great? Feel free to take a few days to think it over."

"I'll join."

"Huh?" Shinjiro and Miki were surprised. It was so fast that Shinjiro wondered if he was an idiot who would sign a contract without reading its contents.

The transfer shrugged at their reactions. "I want to be able to protect myself. Using only a knife gets difficult. Not to mention I don't really have anything better to do."

"That's…pretty half-assed," Shinjiro commented, reassessing the transfer student.

"I don't think Yukari would like to hear his reasons…" Miki whispered so only Shinjiro could hear.

"Tch, she has nothing to complain about." Not to mention, to Shinjiro, it was pretty obvious that wasn't the only reason the transfer accepted. There was some other reason, but as long as it didn't causer him problems or anything, he didn't care.

After all, they all have their own reasons for joining SEES aside from their justice.

"If he doesn't have a reason to fight, that might be even better." Ikutsuki put his memo pad away and gave them a smile. "I'll see you all later when we finalize Minato joining SEES. Goodbye."

The three were left in silence. Miki and the transfer shared a glance while Shinjiro looked towards the stairs. He had a feeling Mitsuru was going to be upset at him. Takeba might be outright pissed.

Whatever.

* * *

 **Writing a little here and there resulted into this.**

 **Feel free to skip AN. Nothing important here. Just me rambling despite brain telling me to sleep.**

 **Anyone else getting sick of the beginning of Persona 3? Pretty much every novelisation covers the beginning of the game that it's gotten really stale.**

 **Not much happened here. No one's really defined personality-wise but I tried to make it clear Minato isn't some op protag who knows everything and can do everything and at the same time isn't anti-social to the levels of Makoto Yuki. The only reason for the mention of all his sports he tried was to explain him using most of the weapons in FES. I could have went with the one-handed sword route but that's no fun.**

 **Game Minato willingly joined clubs, willingly took up student council roles, willingly gave his takoyaki and mad bull to an elementary student, who outright told Kaz to "suck it up" when it came to his injury.**

 **Miki is practically an OC so her personality is pretty much up for me to decide. Though it's not like there's much to judge right now. But, uh, just 'cause she's alive doesn't mean Akihiko and Shinjiro don't have regrets or anything. There's plenty of other ways to have a desire for power other than loss.**

 **Reminder: still not dedicating myself to this story. But there are times where I'm stressed/depressed so I write then. It's a good escape from everything. And considering I got about 5k words down in two writing sessions…**

 **Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed it I'm sorry. Sorry that who knows when the next chapter will be up.**

 **EDIT: Holy there were a lot of mistakes this chapter. I cleaned it up a bit but damn. Normally I would have just ignored it until much later but there were just too much.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Heads up, I'm completely and utterly trash at writing fight scenes. So prepare yourself…**

* * *

"And he agreed!?"

Shinjiro pulled down his beanie over his ears. Why the hell were they so surprised? Didn't they want him so join? Agreeing to join would be the first step.

"Shinjiro…" Mitsuru gave him her trademark glare.

He gestured to the student in question. "Ask him yourself."

The transfer student stepped forward. "The Chairman explained it all to me. So as long as there's nothing I'm missing, I'm in.

"Um," Takeba was at a loss for words. Shinjiro reached his annoyance limit and couldn't wait for this whole thing to be over. Again, he didn't see what made the transfer so special compared to him and Aki.

"He said yes, get that through your head," Shinjiro muttered, hoping to move things along.

"Ah…Then, um, welcome to SEES, Minato. I was worried you wouldn't want to join considering…" Takeba trailed off but they all knew she was referring to their deception game.

And to his credit, the transfer simply shrugged, clearly not letting something like that get to him. Shinjiro felt like he and the transfer student would get along quite well. And by get along, he means they won't annoy each other or get in each other's way.

"I'm going to sleep," Shinjiro announced. It was late and while Takeba returned, the Chairman was still at the school.

"Yes, that's a good idea. I think I'll do the same. Do you need any more help, Takeba?"

"No, I got it from here." Mitsuru gave a sharp nod and left the command room with Shinjiro, making him sigh.

When they reached the third floor, Mitsuru spun on her heel to give Shinjiro another glare. "You made a very risky move."

"Not riskier than yours," Shinjiro countered.

"At least ours was planned meticulously with only one minor setback. If you made one wrong move…"

"Tch, he agreed didn't he? You need to remember that not everyone follows logic to the extent you do."

Mitsuru was caught off guard and blinked. "I don't understand."

"If someone knows they're being lied to, then the best thing to do is confront them right away."

"That kind of bluntness only works for you, Shinjiro."

"That kind of bluntness got all of us to join this club," Shinjiro pointed out, leaving Mitsuru with no words.

Mitsuru soon let out a sigh, the sign of her conceding giving Shinjiro a sense of victory inside. "He joined and that's what matters in the end. Thank you Shinjiro."

"…"

Shinjiro watched Mitsuru turn and enter her room. He was about to continue down the stairs when the sound of another door opening filled the hall. "Shinji?"

"You're still up?" Shinjiro wasn't surprised. He knew Miki had trouble falling asleep and if she did, the Dark Hour always woke her up.

"So, how'd it go?"

Shinjiro shrugged. "They've finally calmed down. They get on Ikutsuki's case for treating him like a subject when they did the same damn thing." Shinjiro ran a hand through his long hair. "Just glad that's over with."

"Yeah. When do you think we'll be able to go back to Tartarus?"

"Who the hell knows? Not like there's much we can do against that barrier." Five floors in the tower and they encountered a barrier in front of the staircase. For two whole years they've been stuck. One more member wasn't going to change that.

"Yeah…I feel so useless. People are suffering and we know why but we can't do anything about it…" Miki looked away, her hair covering her eyes.

Shinjiro clicked his tongue. He was never good with encouragement. "Well, we're all feeling useless so no use thinking about it."

"…"

Realizing he failed to provide any sort of comfort, he sighed. "At the very least we can make the transfer student feel comfortable here. Out of everyone, you're probably the best candidate for that." With that, Shinjiro continued down the stairs and headed to his room. Feeling useless…wasn't uncommon among the four orphans. "Goddammit."

* * *

 **April 9, 2009**

Minato's head shot up from his desk, almost making Miki fall from the bed she was lying on. She sat up and placed a hand over her heart and gave Minato a mock glare, courtesy of the tallest teen in the dorm. "Jeez, what was that about Minato?"

Miki had to give him some credit; he didn't seem to be fazed by the glare at all. "…Sorry. How long was I out?"

Miki blinked, wondering just how much sleep the transfer student got last night. "You weren't out for more than a minute at most."

"…Huh." Minato raised his arm to look at his wristwatch, much to Miki's annoyance. She wasn't lying, sheesh.

"So, Minato, how are you liking Gekkoukan so far?"

Spinning in his chair to face her, Minato deadpanned. "It's been two days."

Miki shrugged, choosing to ignore his sass. "First impressions are everything, you know?"

"I disagree. My first impression of everyone here was terrible," Minato pointed out eliciting a laugh from her. It had been an entire day since Minato decided to join. Paperwork was done and all that was left was for Minato to summon his Persona.

"Yeah Mitsuru and Shinji aren't the best when it comes to first impressions." Miki laughed even more, remembering the past and how they were such a strange group. And now they had a rich, daddy's girl and a blue-haired enigma. At the very least things were getting interesting.

"You seem to be on good terms with them," Minato stated, tilting his head ever so slightly.

Miki nodded happily. "We're like one big family! We all grew up together so we know each other better than anyone."

"And you all have the potential by coincidence?"

Miki blinked, startled by the sudden comment. "Um, I don't know much about that," she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "You should ask Mr. Ikutsuki if you want to know more."

Minato shook his head. "It's none of my business. Sorry."

"No, don't worry about it! You know-" She was cut off by the sudden shift in atmosphere. "…It's already the Dark Hour and brother and Yukari aren't back?"

"Brother? I think I remember Aragaki mentioning him."

"Huh? Yeah, I have an older brother who lives here as well. He's a boxer so he'll punch the lights out of anyone who threatens me!" Miki declared before pausing. "Wait, 'Aragaki'? Hehe, Shinji hates when people are formal with him so you should start calling him by his given name."

Minato merely raised a brow. "Are you sure you're not saying that so you could see his reaction when someone he barely knows refers to him in a friendly manner?"

Miki let out a quiet whistle. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"I get pummeled," Minato answered.

"Hm, yeah. I think it would have been worth it though," Miki responded with her cheeky smile.

Minato wasn't impressed. "Aren't you supposed to make me feel safe and secure?"

"Huh? Who said that?" Miki was half-joking and half-serious. If she was actually supposed to help mellow out Minato, then she may have taken things too far. What if he takes back his decision to join SEES? Did she screw everything up?

"I'm just kidding." She was snapped out of her panic mode by Minato's cool, almost amused voice.

"Huh?"

"I said I'm kidding. I know you didn't mean what you said."

"O-oh, yeah. Just playing around…" Miki sighed in relief. "Um, how long have you been aware of the Dark Hour?"

"…A few years."

"Oh it's the same with us…I think." Miki watched as Minato started to look around his room suddenly. "What's wrong?"

"You guys were observing me, right? How? Are there cameras installed in our rooms or…?"

Miki also started looking around the room before facing Minato. "There are cameras that connect to the Command Room everywhere…but I have no idea where they are. Although I should probably figure out how to get rid of the one in my room."

"'Command Room'…?" Minato furrowed his brow before sighing.

"Yep, it's where Shinji, Mitsuru, and Mr. Ikutsuki are right now! Fourth floor! Still, I would think Yukari would be back by now," Miki commented, glancing towards the closed blue curtains. She was getting concerned. Her brother will be fine, probably, but Yukari was not a fighter by any means. Not without her bow. If a Shadow attacked her…

The dorm shaking suddenly and violently made Miki shriek while Minato fell off his chair. Standing up, Miki helped Minato up. "What was that? An earthquake?" Minato asked, his eyes slightly wider than before.

"Um, can natural disasters happen during the Dark Hour?" Miki tapped a finger on her forehead. "I don't know! Come on, let's go find Shinji and Mitsuru!" Miki tried to remain calm, to not make Minato worry. She was the experienced one. However, Minato looked as composed as ever and Miki found herself relying on him to calm herself.

As soon as the two stepped into the boy's hallway, the building shook again, making Miki almost fall but she managed to catch herself. Looking up at the ceiling, Miki noticed nothing was collapsing. "Can't be an earthquake…then does that mean it's a Shadow!?"

"A Shadow can do something like this?"

Miki turned to Minato and gave him a sheepish smile. "Maybe? I don't know. Mr. Ikutsuki's the expert here."

"There you are!" They whipped their heads in the direction of the stairs to see a brunette rush towards them. "Come on, a large Shadow followed Akihiko back and…"

"Brother!? Where is he!?"

"Outside the dorm, but Miki we need you to take Minato somewhere safe!"

Miki ignored her completely and ran passed Yukari with impressive speed. She jumped down the remaining steps when she neared the bottom and dashed outside the dorm.

When she exited, she saw the face of nightmares. A blue mask with hollow eyes, being lifted by an arm attached to…a lot of other arms and hands, five with large swords and six used for moving. There were some extra arms and hands holding nothing.

She scanned the area and saw her brother behind Mitsuru and Shinji who were acting as a protective wall, their proud Personas floating above them.

Her eyes widened when she saw a drip of blood hit the ground from her brother's left arm. She spun around to face Yukari. "Yukari, give me your evoker!"

"Huh!?" The girl was startled by the sudden demand.

"I need to fight!"

The two then heard Mitsuru attempt to muffle a scream. Turning, they saw Mitsuru knocked down with flames nearby. "Mitsuru's weak to fire…come on Yukari!"

"A-all right." Yukari pulled out her evoker from her leg holster and handed it to Miki. "I'll go get an extra one from the Command Room. Hang on as long as you can!"

Yukari's words barely reached Miki as she grabbed the evoker and rushed towards her family. Placing the gun to her head, she let out a shout. "Helen!"

Materializing in front of her was a feminine yet muscular entity. With long, golden hair and coated in dark blue armour, Helen rushed forward with a needle-like left arm which began cackling with electricity. Raising her arm, a sudden bolt struck the shadow.

"Castor!" Suddenly a similar looking Persona appeared, except he was also riding a horse, and rammed straight into the Shadow.

"Polydeuces!" An almost identical Persona to Helen appeared and also used a lightning strike.

The Shadow however, recovered and with its five swords slashed at each Personas, making them dissipate and swung the remaining two swords at Aki and Shinji.

"Penthesilea!" With her own two swords, Mitsuru's Persona pushed back against the remaining two swords.

"This thing is damn annoying!" Shinji stated before summoning Castor again to help push back the Shadow.

"Can we cut off its arms?" Aki asked, taking a step back to increase the distance between him and the swords. It was difficult for him to get up close and personal with the amount of swords the Shadow was waving around.

"Allow me," Mitsuru said before Penthesilea knocked the swords away and raised one of her swords before cutting straight through one of the Shadow's arms. However that did nothing to slow down the monster's progress as it began wildly swinging its swords.

"Fight for me!" Miki shouted, summoning Helen once again. This time, her Persona blocked one of the blades with her needle, pushing back as best she could.

Suddenly another arm was gone, as Mitsuru's Persona used the opportunity to strike. Shinji quickly followed with his own Persona and managed to cut off another arm.

As soon as they felt like they had an advantage, the Shadow let out a sudden wail before the fire that was already on the ground began to spread. "Mitsuru, get back and analyze this damn thing," Shinji called out, wiping the sweat from his chin.

Quickly retreating, Mitsuru fired her evoker. Miki ran forwards, taking Mitsuru's place. "Hold on, it will take some time."

"You should have held back when you saw it could use fire," Miki said before rolling out of the way from an incoming fire blast. The Shadow delivered a horizontal slice towards Miki, who countered with firing her evoker.

As her Persona blocked the attack, Shinji's Persona stomped down on the arm attacking her before stabbing it repeatedly.

She saw her brother summon Polydeuces and strike the Shadow with a good lightning bolt, stunning it momentarily.

"It's Arcana is Magician. It has no notable elemental attributes." It was sudden, but Mitsuru managed to relay the information she's gathered. Which wasn't much, unfortunately.

"Who cares what Arcana it is!?" Shinji shouted before slamming down his large hammer on the arm his Persona previously stabbed and cut.

"With the way it's attacking, it's almost like a barbarian," Miki noted, watching her Persona block another sword coming her way.

"I think barbarians are smarter than this thing. It doesn't use all swords at once and takes its sweet time," her brother relayed. Information he probably gathered when he encountered it. Miki sighed.

"But how do we kill it? It doesn't have a body!"

"The mask, probably." Shinjiro hefted his hammer over his shoulder and Castor raced towards the Shadow's mask with its jousting spear in position. Suddenly two swords cut through Castor in the blink of an eye. "Seems like I was right."

"Let's finish the rest of its arms then." Miki and Aki fired their evokers and their Personas let loose a simultaneous lightning strike.

"Brother, you go in close! I'll keep hitting it with some lightning!" Aki nodded and Polydeuces flew straight towards the Shadow, quickly joined by Castor. Helen kept striking with lightning repeatedly, not letting up a second.

Suddenly the swords that were on the ground due to falling began to rise mystically into the air. There was a sudden breeze that only began to grow stronger.

Miki was the first to be sent flying and crashed into the dorm wall. Shinji and Aki were holding their ground, but the winds grew too strong and even they were sent flying.

Miki winced before looking up. Her eyes widened, terrified of the sight in front of her. Each sword was floating in the air, glowing. Nearby blood puddles rose and began swirling around each sword.

"Brother…" Miki muttered. "You think it heard us insulting it?"

"I don't know."

"Idiots. Shadows can't understand us," Shinji scoffed, standing back up. Miki noticed his hammer was completely shattered. How, she had no idea.

"I detect a sudden rise in power. I don't understand why…" Miki didn't know where Mitsuru was, but she could hear the grimace in her voice.

"Mitsuru, you need to get Takeba and the transfer student here," Aki exclaimed as he shakily raised his evoker to his head.

"Brother, you need to leave! You're too hurt!" Miki pleaded once she recalled his injury.

"I won't run away just because of something like this!"

"Dumbass. If you want to protect her in the future then go now." Her brother fell silent at Shinji's words. Before he could say any more, he nodded, albeit very hesitantly.

"Its power suddenly stopped rising!" Mitsuru shouted immediately. "Now it's too powerful!"

Four consecutive gunfire's sounded the area. The four Persona Users summoned the moment the floating swords aimed their blades at them. Almost like they had a mind of their own, the glowing steel countered each Persona, pushing for dominance.

Miki cried out when her brother dropped to a knee, breaking her own concentration. Both Polydeuces and Helen were cut into pieces, shattering into glittery dust.

Penthesilea and Castor were having better luck. Shinji was gritting his teeth so hard, Miki was certain she could hear them being gnashed. Unfortunately, the swords that were attacking her and her brother joined the other swords and stabbed the Personas in the back, making them fade away into glass.

The squelching sound made Miki sick as she dropped to her knees into a puddle of blood. The Shadow was approaching them and all she could do now was stare into her reflection in the crimson liquid.

"Polydeuces!" The intense shout from her brother made her raise her head. She looked to her side to see her brother gripping his evoker really hard, to the point she was pretty sure he cracked the grip. His expression was filled with a mixture of fear and determined; the expression he wore in the early days when he started boxing, when he was backed into the corner. And it was only then he pulled off the flashiest and most impressive comebacks.

Polydeuces, with a burst of light, struck each sword and the Shadow itself with lightning. It wasn't significantly stronger than before, but the flash from the lightning made it seem all the more powerful.

"Damn it…" Miki felt her mouth open, and could hear herself scream, but wasn't sure if she did. Her brother collapsed, again.

"Idiot!" Shinji yelled, summoning and standing back up, albeit on shaky legs. The horseback rider returned and charged at the Shadow but with a place, the swords quickly cut him to pieces. "Where the hell is Takeba!? She should be seeing this from the Command Room…"

It was at that moment, a deathly roar filled the area-no, the entire city. Miki couldn't figure out which direction it came from. All she knew was that if it was an enemy, and things that roared usually were, they were finished.

Suddenly from above a large beast…no it had a human-shaped body and a mask that could only belong to a monster. The most off-putting thing about the monster was not the mask; it was the metal coffins chained to the…thing. And in its right hand, it was holding a sword. Thin and gleaming in the darkness, it was a sword, Miki could tell, that promised to deliver death.

And it did.

It went by so fast. The monster wildly, yet meticulously performed sword slashes that cut the Shadow into pieces, managing to deflect the incoming swords by flying through the air and cut them into pieces with its own sword.

With nothing left to protect itself, the Shadow stayed still, tilting its mask as if waiting for its death.

And death it received.

The mask was cut in half and ichor sprayed all over the area like rain. The only sound in the air was the monster letting out disturbing pants.

As if to revel in its glory and conclude the event, the monster rose into the sky, directly in the center of the full, glowing moon, and roared.

Like a computer glitch, it flickered and in its place was a completely different being. One that reminded Miki of…

Mitsuru's gasp confirmed Miki's thoughts as the being, or rather, Persona, broke into blue butterflies.

But right now, to Miki that didn't matter. They survived, and her brother needed medical attention. "We need to get help!"

Mitsuru stood up, like a professional leader, and spoke. "I'll get the chairman to contact Takeba Group medical units." Quickly, she turned on her heels and practically ran into the dorm, leaving Miki and Shinji by her brother's side.

"You idiot…" Miki sobbed, letting loose her tears. The one liquid that didn't turn into blood during the Dark Hour.

"Hey, I'm all right. Just exhausted."

"How much you want to bet you broke something?" Shinji gave her brother a good, stern glare while her brother didn't say anything. The sound of squelching could be heard behind from where the Shadow just was. Near the flames, they saw significantly smaller shadows. Shinji stood up and stepped forward. "You keep an eye on that idiot brother of yours. I'll deal with these things." Miki nodded, knowing full well Shinji could take down those Shadows. They were the same ones that appeared in Tartarus' early floors.

She returned her attention to her brother, helping him into a more comfortable position. Realizing she was still crying, he reached up with his gloved hand, wiping away some of her makeup, revealing pink, pulsating skin.

* * *

 **Told ya I am completely and utterly trash at writing fight scenes.**

 **Well that's over.**

 **Nothing too different here…at all. But this is just the beginning after all.**

 **I like writing how other people see Minato's actions as a protagonist. Like when he told Miki he was kidding, if I were writing that from his point of view it would be like** _"She got really concerned all of a sudden…I should probably calm her down and change the topic."_ **But Miki didn't know that. I don't know, just something I personally enjoy.**

 **Miki isn't going to take the spotlight any more than the other P3 characters. I'm trying to treat her just like I would them and she's technically OC so I don't know how much people would like it if an OC suddenly started hogging all the attention. But when certain sketchbook-red-head is introduced, hahaha she ain't OC so she may hog a lot of attention…nah just kidding. She'll get her deserved attention at the bare minimum.**

 **Also it seems like a lot of people skipped Chapter 2. Which makes sense since I released Chapter 2 and 3 at the same time but it's still kinda funny to me.**

 **Also2, I still don't have any plans for writing and releasing chapters. I just write when I need to unwind or have some free-time and release when I'm done. But I won't make the same mistake as last chapter where I released before even proofreading… Like, that's elementary basic rule #1: Always proofread.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Friday, April 10, 2009**

Walking down the hallway never seemed tenser than now, and Mitsuru knew exactly why. Both the transfer student and Akihiko were hospitalized immediately following the battle. Mitsuru went over the events that transpired with Takeba.

After parting ways with Sanada, Takeba and the transfer student hid in the command room with the Chairman. They were watching the battle and decided to try and help by attacking from above. Unfortunately there were smaller Shadows on the roof and Yukari fought them with her own abilities. The transfer student was also assisted with basic combat.

When he summoned his Persona was when things changed. Literally. His Persona transformed into a different one, the one they saw that completely tore the large Shadow apart. Then he collapsed from exhaustion after assisting Takeba with killing the remaining Shadows.

It wasn't as detailed as she would prefer, but it will due. She soon arrived at the room currently vacated by a very reckless boxer.

"Mitsuru's here!" The cheerful voice of the younger Sanada filled the room, alleviating the tension she felt walking down the hall.

"Sanada," She greeted with a nod and a small smile before turning to the patient. "How are you doing, Akihiko? I'm afraid I haven't been able to look at your injury list in great detail yet."

Akihiko raised his right arm to wave off her concern. "It's not a big deal. I'll be fine in no time."

"Thankfully," Sanada muttered and leaned back in the chair she was sitting in.

With an amused smile, Mitsuru continued. "Shinjiro's getting your missed work for you. He's not happy about missing his usual naptime."

Akihiko and Sanada laughed. "Yeah, I'll tell him thanks."

"By the way Mitsuru," Mitsuru turned to Sanada. "Minato woke up! He's still really tired but says he'll be fine."

"I see. That's good to hear. Did you manage to find out anything?"

Sanada shook her head before giving a sheepish smile. "Even if he did tell me anything, I probably wouldn't understand. Maybe you should go ask him? Oh, but Yukari's with him now."

"We'll discuss this tonight. Perhaps a trip to Tartarus is warranted?"

"Don't ask me. It's up to Yukari."

It was true that any decision regarding Tartarus was left up to their leader, but it had been a long time since they visited Tartarus. Akihiko and Shinjiro visited frequently for a while before stopping once the Shadows on the first floor were no longer difficult.

"I'll see you two back at the dorm then." She wasted no time leaving. She had to finish the preparations for the elections, after all they were next week and she didn't plan on having Takeba win without an honest effort.

Walking down the hallway, she recalled Arisato's room was also on this floor. She supposed she might as well check on his condition.

As soon as she approached the door to his hospital room, the door opened revealing Takeba who looked unusually relieved.

Until they made eye contact. The relaxed look on Takeba's face disappeared and her regular neutral expression returned. "Um, Mitsuru. What's up?"

"I was hoping to see how Arisato was doing."

She noticed how Takeba's brows furrowed. "Do you even know him?"

Mitsuru blinked at the sudden question. "No, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"…Never mind. Bye." Quickly, Takeba strode down the hall, leaving Mitsuru to stare after her, confused by the interaction.

Deciding to put it in the back of her mind for now, she stepped into the room to see Arisato sitting up against his bed. He quickly noticed her and seemed surprised. "Kirijo…"

"Arisato, how are you feeling?"

He brushed his bangs to the side before rubbing his temple. "Tired…" It seemed bringing up what happened the night before brought about a headache. "But I'd rather be in my own bed than this one."

Mitsuru smiled in slightly. "I suppose that's only natural." Arisato nodded. "I'll be on my way now. If you need anything, you know how to call the nurse."

When he nodded again, Mitsuru walked out of the room, closing the door behind her quietly. She supposed she could have asked him more, but it was most likely unnecessary. Takeba probably questioned him thoroughly and would more than likely tell her later.

For now, winning the elections was her top priority.

* * *

A loud, gruff yawn echoed in the empty classroom. Pushing his beanie up, Shinjiro looked around before looking down at the papers on his desk. The work he was supposed to be getting for his stupid brother. "…Tch, relying on me for something like this... dumbasses." Quickly stuffing the papers into his bag, Shinjiro hefted the bag over his shoulder and slouched before exiting the classroom. There were still some students around, some carrying promotional posters for their campaign. He saw a group of guys putting up a poster with Mitsuru on it, donning a very serious expression.

When the students left, Shinjiro walked up to the poster to get a closer look. "'Vote for the student council empress!'… What the hell?" He moved his gaze to the poster next to it. "'Vote for Takeba, the future heir!' …"

"Yeah, it's kinda embarrassing." Shinjiro narrowed his eyes at the sudden voice behind him. Turning around, he glowered at the heir. "Leave it to my advertisement team, huh?"

"..." Shinjiro began walking away, leaving Takeba by herself in front of the posters.

As soon as he reached the gates, he saw the empress herself enter the school. "Shinjiro, you're leaving?"

"…Yeah. Got nothing else to do."

"I see. Akihiko woke up so if you wish, you can go see him and Sanada."

"I'll see." Continuing his stride, he left the school grounds.

Going to see the dumbass was pointless. If he was awake, and Miki was there, there was no need for him. At the same time he had nothing better to do. "Damn, since when I was this indecisive?" He glared at a student who was looking at him with a suspicious glance. Looks determined everything in this world and he just so happened to look like a delinquent.

As if he was someone who'd get into a mess like that.

If Aki and the transfer student were awake, they'd probably be returning later. Shinjiro supposed he could make a meal that would make them feel somewhat better.

Miki would be happy too. Mitsuru would also be delighted, although the only giveaway would be her small smile.

It was thoughts like that that would bring a smile to Shinjiro's normally scary expression.

"The transfer student better damn like what I'm making."

* * *

"Shinji! It's a hand! _Walking hands!_ "

Shinjiro placed a hand on his forehead at the young silver-haired girl's observation. "Yes, we can see that. Hurry up and kill it." Turning around, he saw Minato staring at the hands blankly while Takeba shuffled awkwardly, her evoker in her hand.

He supposed they were waiting for a proper order. "What's their weakness?"

"Please hold on while I scan the enemy."

Shinjiro's eyes narrowed as the hands began to spread apart. He could feel cold air exerted from one of them, making him instinctively move in front of Miki. Another one made his skin tingle and the other made him want to take off his beanie.

"Do you think they use all the elements?" Shinjiro glanced at the transfer student who asked the question while raising the evoker to his head.

"Maybe. But who knows what the hell they're weak to. So wait 'till Mitsuru says something."

The transfer student frowned before nodding, placing his evoker back into its holster before entering a stance with his rapier. With his legs spread and body hunched forward, Shinjiro could only wonder what the hell he was doing.

"They're attacking!" Takeba shouted, as suddenly ice shards started to fill the air. Takeba managed to protect herself by summoning her Persona at just the right moment.

"Aragaki, shouldn't we strike?" The transfer student asked. Shinjiro had to admit, maybe the transfer student knew what he was doing with the sword, as he deflected some of the ice shards while tiptoeing around some others.

"…Mitsuru, hurry up."

"I apologize."

That wasn't what Shinjiro wanted to hear. Shinjiro raised a brow as a hand approached him. Raising his hammer, Shinjiro brought it down with immense force, flattening the hand before kicking it away.

"Persona!" Behind him, he heard Miki summon her Persona.

"Wait, what are you doing?" The hand he had kicked was suddenly struck by electricity. However, it didn't seem to do much compared to Shinjiro's hammer strike.

"I wanted to help…"

Clicking his tongue, Shinjiro groaned as another table started to cackle with electricity. Who was weak to electricity again?

"Ah!" Takeba's shout made him turn to the brunette who had fallen to her knees, having just been struck by lightning.

"…This isn't good," Shinjiro muttered, pulling his beanie over his eyes before turning to the hands. He quickly placed his hammer down to crack his knuckles before picking it back up. "Screw this! Transfer student, Miki, we're going all out against these assholes!"

Miki nodded with vigor while the transfer student seemed baffled by his attitude. _Get used to it._ Shinjiro ran straight towards the nearest hand and brought his hammer down to deliver justice. With her dual knives, Miki ran to another table to slash at them, but it easily avoided the slash and suddenly they were all struck by sudden gales.

The three were sent flying back, Shinjiro hitting the nearby wall pretty hard while Miki rolled on the ground, disarmed.

The transfer student managed to take the sudden wind attack fairly well and raised his evoker to his head.

"Their Arcana is Magician. They're weak to Strike attacks!"

Mitsuru finally managed to get some damn info, making Shinjiro let out a 'tch' in annoyance. "Should've been summoning Castor from the start…" he mumbled, slowly getting back up.

"Orpheus!" With elegance, the transfer student's Persona appeared and gave one of the hands a bash on the head with his lyre.

Suddenly, any injuries Shinjiro had were nulled. Looking to his side, he saw Takeba and her Persona beside him. "…" Standing up, he placed his evoker to his head and fired. As soon as Castor appeared, he went straight to the Shadows, ramming one into the wall.

The transfer student's Persona bashed another with his lyre and now they were all knocked out. "Now. Let's kick these thing's ass."

Takeba and the transfer nodded, both dismissing their Personas and gripping their weapons. With no hesitation, the three rushed forwards.

Shinjiro grabbed the neck of one of the hands, ignoring the slimy texture, and slammed it against the wall before bashing its face with his hammer. The mask disintegrated and the Shadow was no more. He turned to see the transfer and Takeba finish the remaining two. "Good work." Shinjiro walked over to Miki and helped her up, getting a grateful smile.

"That could have went worse," Miki said, looking around for her knives.

It also could have went better, Shinjiro thought. But when Shinjiro looked over the condition of the team, they really didn't have too much problems. Takeba was struck once but managed to heal herself and him. The transfer student managed to stay collected and seemed to have some idea of how to fight.

"Let's call it a night. You tired yet, transfer?"

The transfer student gave him an awkward smile. "Not really."

Nodding, Shinjiro walked over to an access point and was quickly teleported to the lobby. The three quickly followed. "Whoever invented access points is a genius!" Miki said while stretching her arms. "Maybe we can have one at the dorm and school?"

"That'd be convenient." The transfer student nodded, agreeing with her.

Seriously, how lazy were those two? Shinjiro snorted before turning to Mitsuru who walked over to him and Takeba with an apologetic expression. "Takeba, Shinjiro, I apologize for the delay with my analysis."

"Don't worry about it," Takeba said before leaving the tower in haste.

"…Is there any way you can develop your abilities?" Shinjiro asked. He saw Aki frown and approach him.

"If there was, she would have done it a long time ago, don't you think Shinji?"

Shinjiro glared at Aki before conceding. He had a point. "Sorry. But that kind of thing can be the difference between life and death."

"I'm very much aware. I'll keep trying to improve, but there's no guarantee," Mitsuru grimaced.

"Just don't push yourself too hard," Aki said with a stern stare to which Mitsuru ignored. The two walked out of the tower, leaving Shinjiro and the two younger members behind.

"Well, let's go." Shinjiro mumbled before stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"By the way, Aragaki…" Shinjiro stopped and turned his head slightly. "It's Arisato. Arisato Minato."

 _…_ _Did I ask?_ "In that case, drop the Aragaki."

Minato smirked. "Understood, Shinjiro."

* * *

 **Saturday, April 11, 2009**

"Something's different."

"Huh? What do you mean, Shinji?"

Shinjiro looked around the main hall of the school. Just yesterday there were lots of posters of the two girls who were running for president. Now there was considerably less. "…Never mind."

"Huh? Shinji!" Miki complained but Shinjiro headed to the stairs. He didn't feel like explaining something that wasn't worth explaining.

"Shinjiro, good morning."

"Yeah, morning." Shinjiro was about to walk past Mitsuru when he realized she was staring at one of the campaign posters. Specifically, the one of Takeba. "What is it?"

"She's quite incredible, hm?"

"Huh?"

"Helps her parents with managing a large company and is running for president. You don't get more impressive than that."

Shinjiro snorted and turned halfway. "You better not be jealous."

"No…perhaps envious."

"Same thing."

Turning around with a small smirk on her face. "Perhaps you need to pay attention more in class if you cannot differentiate simple words."

"Shut up," Shinjiro muttered before beginning to leave. "I know what I said."

He walked away quickly before he could see the expression on Mitsuru's face. Passing by another poster of Takeba, Shinjiro couldn't help but give it a subtle, passing glare.

* * *

 **Monday, April 13, 2009**

"Shinjiro?" Shinjiro raised a brow when Arisato spoke to him.

"What is it?"

"You've noticed, right? The disappearing posters?"

Shinjiro gave a glance to a nearby wall. "I'm surprised you noticed. Doesn't seem like anyone else have."

Minato decided to join Shinjiro and leaned on the wall next to him, raising a foot to rest against the wall. "I overheard some students. People aren't noticing the posters disappear, but they are saying how Yukari's posters are sticking in their heads more. Which may be a result of Mitsuru's disappearing posters."

"…You're a sneaky kid, huh?"

Ignoring Shinjiro's comment, Arisato continued. "I don't know about how fair the code of conduct is here, but before I assume the worst…is Mitsuru backing out?"

"Hell no." Shinjiro was surprised at his automatic response that could be treated as a spat. Arisato didn't seem too surprised, annoyingly enough. "Mitsuru isn't the kind of person to run away. This is something she's been passionate about since…" Shinjiro stopped himself, almost revealing Mitsuru's personal feelings to the transfer student. He gave the transfer student a good glare. _Sneaky bastard._

"Then someone is trying to sabotage her?" Minato asked, or rather suggested.

"…Probably. Takeba if I had to guess. She probably asked someone to and promised something in return."

"Guaranteeing them a position on the council, maybe?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you Shinjiro." A quick nod and Arisato stood up from the wall, hands stuffed into his pockets and walked lazily away. Shinjiro stared at the blue hair on the back of Arisato's head. "Sneaky bastard…" Glancing at another poster, he stared at the date at the bottom. The rest of the week will be voting week and tomorrow will be the speeches.

He returned his glance to where Arisato was a moment ago, wondering what exactly was his goal.

"Shinji! Thanks for waiting!" Shinjiro let out a grunt as his side was hit by a bag. He gave Miki his old glare, in which she such smiled brightly at. It seemed his glare was doing him no good lately. "You don't look as bored as I expected. What were you doing?"

"Arisato came and we talked for a minute."

"Minato? Where is he? Is he still here?"

Shinjiro raised a brow at the girl's attitude. "You care, why?"

"He's a fun person! He's like, a lazier version of you!"

That was not what Shinjiro wanted to hear.

* * *

Minato sighed as he stepped out of the washroom. He gathered as much information about Kirijo's slander as best as he could, but he was new. He didn't know anyone and he was definitely not confronting Yukari about this. He'd need a lifetime of courage to do something like that.

He saw red hair pass the corner of the hall, making him pause. Should he inform Kirijo? She was sharp, he was sure she noticed. Still, a casual conversation might be good. And he might be able to get the rest of whatever Shinjiro was saying earlier about Mitsuru's passion.

He quickly strode past the corner and saw the red hair go up the stairs to the roof, making Minato raise a brow. _Maybe that's not Mitsuru?_ Was there anyone in the school with red hair like Mitsuru?

Oh right there was a student in his class with red hair. With that, Minato went down the stairs, seeing no need to talk to her.

Although…

Minato went back up and started to head to the roof.

 _These social links…I wonder if they can happen with anyone or just members of SEES?_

He stepped forward onto the roof, closing the door behind him. No one around, except for the red-haired girl sitting, presumabely sketching the flowers in front of her.

She stopped immediately as soon as he closed the door behind him. Her head whipped in his direction and even from a distance Minato could feel her glare.

Running a hand through his hair, he walked forward. Should he apologize or greet her? "Sorry for disturbing you."

"If you're sorry, then leave." Her voice was softer than Minato expected.

"…" Minato walked past the girl, glancing down at her sketchpad to see her drawing. Impressive wasn't good enough to describe the drawing. Minato wondered if there was an art club?

Minato reached the fence that bordered the edge of the roof. Gripping the edge, Minato stared across the water in the direction of the wind turbine. The breeze allowed his hair to fly and presumabely become a mess, however the breathtaking sight allowed him to forgive the wind.

"Two whole years here…"

* * *

Mitsuru sighed before accepting a bottle of water from Akihiko. "Thank you."

"Good job. As long as Hidetoshi does his job, you're guaranteed to win," Akihiko stated with a confirent smirk.

Mitsuru could only shake her head. "I'm afraid it isn't so simple, Akihiko. I doubt Takeba isn't going to make a good speech as well. I need to touch the people who support Takeba, and the moment they second guess themselves…"

"You deliver the final blow."

"Precisely."

Sharing a smirk, Mitsuru placed the water and papers down and was ready to recite it.

* * *

"Yo, Yuka-tan!"

Yukari's momentarily adopted an expression of annoyance. "What do you want, Junpei?"

"Hey now! Just checking up on the future president! Got to make sure you're worthy for the job, you know? It's my duty as a fellow student!"

"Last I check, you weren't the student representative," Yukari rolled her eyes, suppressing a smirk. "Anyways, go away. You're bothering me."

"Oh, come on! You've been here for like, what, hours? Even you know it's unhealthy to stay in school past club hours!"

"Unhealthy? Figures a Go-Home Club member would say that." Yukari shook her head, and returned her attention to the papers in front of her.

Yukari didn't notice Junpei peer down at her speech. "Woah! You really are looking to win! Atta girl Yuka-tan!"

"Shut up and leave."

"Hey now! Just giving you some good ol' fashion praise! I don't even know what you're so worried about. Your face is all over the school. Although, I think some guys took some of your posters to hang in their room."

Yukari's face became etched in disgust. "Disgusting…" she muttered. "You better not be one of those people, Stupei."

Junpei comically recoiled. "Hey now! I wouldn't stoop that low!"

Yukari didn't believe him and glared at him. "You took one of Mitsuru's, didn't you?"

"Hey! Like I said, I wouldn't stoop that low! Although…maybe I should…"

"Get out, you perv."

Yukari pushed the laughing Junpei out of the classroom and slammed the door shut. Letting out a breath, Yukari returned to her speech. "I will do this…"

* * *

 **So I realized an error I made: in Japan I'm pretty sure student council elections are done in like December or January of the previous school year…But then again Mitsuru was announced at the president during the new school year?**

 **Oops.**

 **Oh well. I'll just say it's a Gekkoukan thing. Not like it will matter in the long run.**

 **So that "day a chapter" thing is no longer in effect. Good for me.**

 **Fighting is not my specialty so…yeah I really suck at fight scenes.**

 **Shinjiro is fun to write. I don't think I've nailed his character, but I still had fun.**

 **Lots of stuff happened even if it might seem not that important. I think the biggest-smallest highlight was Minato's roof scene with the MYSTERIOUS RED-HAIRED GIRL WHO LIKES TO SKETCH.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed and let me know what you think.**

 **Actually, I'd really like to know what people think of Miki. I know OC's can end up being overbearing and whatnot. I know it's probably too early for any form of judgement but some general thoughts, maybe?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Tuesday, April 14, 2009**

Minato's hands were restless inside his pockets as he walked down the second floor hallway. Students were whispering, talking about the election speeches that were given earlier that morning.

He saw Shinjiro exit the washroom and approached him. "Who are you going to vote for?"

Shinjiro glared at him but Minato did everything he could to not gulp in nervousness. "Votes are private. Even if it's a stupid hoax."

Minato nodded. "Fair enough. What did you think of the speeches?"

Shinjiro shrugged and looked away. "Mitsuru's the only one worth a damn."

Before Minato could say any more, Shinjiro walked off leaving him behind. Minato grew a wry smile and began walking in the opposite direction. That answered his first question.

Minato stopped in front of one of Yukari's campaign posters. Next to it was a noticeably bare wall. Minato touched a piece of tape that looked like it was ripped off some paper. Or a poster. A campaign poster.

Minato wondered why Yukari would go to such lengths to sabotage Mitsuru, if that theory was true. Yukari's speech was actually surprisingly well-done. But Mitsuru's was something else. On a whole other level. Minato himself barely understood it but he was able to pick out the important words to get the general idea.

"Hey dude!" Minato turned around to see a familiar capped teen. He's talked with him every now and then, went out for ramen twice with him and another guy. "So, checkin' out the popular Takeba, huh? If you want, I can help you smuggle one of the posters, eh? Eh?"

Junpei kept nudging him while Minato raised a brow. Could it be that the ones responsible for the disappearing posters were perverts? But then some would have to take Yukari's.

Minato brushed Junpei's hand off his shoulder. "No, just wondering about the disappearing posters."

"Oh really? I hear the Go-Home club's been taking them for their needs, heh."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"You kidding, man? Everyone's been talking about it."

Minato's brow furrowed. The Go-Home club are just students who don't bother sticking around after school because they aren't in any extracurricular activities. Meaning they couldn't have taken them without someone seeing them. Was someone intentionally spreading that rumour?

Minato eyed Junpei warily, who noticed and placed his hands in front of him. "No way man! I got my stash!"

Sighing, Minato decided to drop it. Kirijo had to have noticed by now, right? Was she doing anything about it?

* * *

"But this is sabotage!"

"Odagiri, please keep your voice down."

"The speeches you have prepared were perfect, and in any normal circumstance would have gotten rid of any doubt! I will not forgive such an act! I will find the culprit posthaste and make them confess! We will have a revote and…"

"Odagiri." Mitsuru's tone got Odagiri to stop pacing. "If the student body is still in doubt between myself and Takeba even after the speeches, then what will posters do? Takeba played her cards perfectly. I was the one who ended up short-handed."

Odagiri was silent for a moment before sighing. He then gave her a deep bow which was uncharacteristic for the young proud man. "I hope to work with you in the coming year."

Mitsuru let out a small smile. "I as well."

Leaving the school, Mitsuru let out a sigh as she placed a hand on her forehead. Her dream was so close, in her grasp. To become a leader, someone significant. Student Council President of a prestigious high school would have been the biggest stepping stone of them all.

"Mitsuru? You all right?" Mitsuru blinked as she saw the younger Sanada standing in front of her.

"I'm fine Sanada, just exhausted."

Sanada let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I bet. Um, if there's anything I can do, let me know! I'm on your side Mitsuru!"

Mitsuru nodded and walked off quickly, not waiting to see Sanada's expression to brushing her off. Perhaps that was a bit cold, but she just wanted to return to the dorm and retire for the rest of the day.

Because she knew. Mitsuru knew deep down it was over.

* * *

"Miki?" Miki jumped at the sudden voice. Snapped out of her stupor, she turned to face Minato who then rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. I meant Sanada."

Miki shook her head. "No, Miki's fine! You're my upperclassmen after all! So, uh, what's up?"

Minato looked in the direction she was facing. He seemed to be pondering something before looking back at her. "Are you all right? You seemed to be in deep thought."

Miki shook her head. "Just fine! Don't worry about me!"

Minato seemed to have decided to drop it and nodded. "Are you heading back to the dorm?"

Miki nodded and tilted her head. "Yep! You want to come with?"

"Sure."

* * *

"A bookstore?" Minato tilted his head as he looked up at the logo of the storm. It was plain and old-fashioned. BOOKWORMS it said.

"I guess they're still closed. I was hoping to buy a new book." Minato watched Miki approach the store window and peer inside. "Aww…no one's inside either."

"Don't think about breaking in and stealing."

Miki turned around and gave Minato a mock glare. "As if I'd do something like that! You sound like Shinji!"

Smiling slightly, Minato changed the direction of the conversation. "What book were you going to get?"

"This store usually sells old books. Even some classics that can be hard to find. Or even some old manga. I like browsing and then picking a random one."

"I didn't think you were the book type."

"Hey, I got in Gekkoukan High, didn't I?"

 _And so did Junpei._ Minato thought back to when Junpei didn't even know about mud huts. Maybe Junpei was a science student? Although that was really hard to believe.

"My favourite books are those where the protagonist starts small and rise up. Sacrifice a lot to make it to the top. They didn't let anything stop them from achieving their goal."

Poor to rich. One story came to mind immediately. "So I guess you like stories like the legend of the Straw Millionaire?"

Miki nodded her head slightly before tilting it. "Yeah! Though that one involved more luck… but he did get what he wanted in the end. Well, luck is a part of life after all!"

"Luck, huh?"

"Huh? Are you one of those people who don't believe in luck?"

Minato shook his head. "No, luck by definition exists. And coincidences also exist. And perhaps there's a set fate for each person. But can a coincidence be caused by luck yet be on the same path as fate?"

Miki blinked before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I don't get it. But, uh, yes?"

Minato chuckled. "Sorry. That didn't even make sense so its fine. We should get going."

Miki nodded and skipped ahead. "It's late enough that when we get back dinner will be ready! Woo!"

* * *

 **Wednesday, April 15, 2009**

Shinjiro groaned when Minato approached him _again._ He gave the boy one of his nastiest glares but the transfer student took it in stride, much to his annoyance. "I'm not the guy you want to bounce dumb theories off of."

Minato shrugged and leaned back against the wall next to him. "Actually, you are."

Who the hell was this kid? Did he think they were friends or some shit?

"Anyways, is there a chance there could be rigging in this election?"

Shinjiro raised a brow, his previous annoyance mostly replaced with curiosity. Mostly. "Rigged huh. Interesting way of thinking about this. But I doubt it. Odagiri, guy who gave Mitsuru's speech, is in the Student Council. He's probably overseeing the whole counting thing."

"That's good," Minato nodded to himself, making Shinjiro raise a brow.

"You seem to care way more than a transfer student should."

"Yeah, I know. I prefer a fair fight though."

"A fair fight, huh." Minato pushed himself off the wall and left, leaving Shinjiro alone in the hallway again. "This sure as hell ain't a fair fight."

"Oh, Shinjiro." Shinjiro groaned aloud when the next junior approached him. Takeba approached him and handed him a small card. "Here, in case you haven't voted yet." As quickly as she came she left. The girl wasn't dumb. She knew he voted for Mitsuru. But part of her speech was being open to everyone, including the suspicious ones. Like him.

Scoffing, Shinjiro began walking down the hall to the stairs to leave. "A fair fight…rigged…"

Could he have rigged this whole thing for Mitsuru?

No, it was far too late.

Shinjiro glared at anything that moved for the rest of the day.

* * *

Minato opened the door and was met by a refreshing spring breeze. Closing the door behind him, Minato emerged on the roof where he saw the familiar red-head. Not the red-head he was looking for, but she definitely piqued his interest.

He almost smiled in amusement when she sent him a glare once again. "Sorry for disturbing you."

"If you're sorry then leave."

He walked past her once again in silence, not bothering to take a glimpse of her sketch. Gripping the fence once again, he let the wind blow his hair back, revealing his usually hidden eye. "Mind if I ask you something? Who did you vote for?"

"…"

Minato turned to face the girl who was focusing on her sketch. "Did you vote?"

"No."

"Why not?" She flipped a page in her sketchbook.

"Because I don't care."

"…Fair enough," Minato wanted to laugh because in a way he also didn't care. Kirijo or Yukari, either one would suffice. But at the same time, the way it was being handled was unfortunate. Minato decided to head back. As he opened the door, he paused. "What's your name?"

"…"

"…Fair enough." Minato closed the door behind him. He smoothed his hair with his hand before walking down the stairs. As he expected, everyone was gone. Even Shinjiro wasn't at his usual place waiting for Miki.

* * *

He stepped inside the dorm and saw everyone sitting at the dining table. It was an unusual sight for Minato. He had never once saw all of SEES eating dinner together. Yukari was never around when Shinjiro cooked and Kirijo would arrive too late.

Minato stepped forward, only to hesitate. It seemed everyone at the table were staring down at their food to notice he entered the dorm. He mulled the suggestion of going to Tartarus in his head before deciding it would probably be best not to. He could feel Shinjiro's animosity from the door, Miki and Yukari's nervousness was evident and Akihiko and Mitsuru were neutral.

What a strange club they were. How were they going to fight for their lives living like this?

Minato stepped forward. "Let's go to Tartarus."

* * *

"No weaknesses detected," Mitsuru called over the transciever. "However, do not use physical skills! They are inneffective!"

"…Well shit," Shinjiro said as he stepped back while Akihiko and Yukari stepped forward and the transfer student stayed rooted to his spot. "Use whatever elemental attacks you got!"

The three nodded and each simultaneously summoned their Personas. Except Minato summoned a different one from Orpheus. It was a red magatama. From the three apppeared lightning, wind, and fire respectively, each hitting the strange-looking Shadow. It was mechanical looking with several legs it alternated on with two large spikes jutting out from its shoulders.

Its upper body began spinning and soon it was heading towards the Persona users. Each of them jumped away, spreading out in the unfortunately narrow hallway.

"Tch, if only we were in a more spacious area," Akihiko muttered, readjusting his gloves before placing his evoker to his head. "Polydeuces!"

"Like a boxing ring?" Minato suggested, following suit, summoning another Persona. "Apsaras!" Lightning and ice shards crashed into the Shadow. It's upper body started spinning again, charging through the attack.

"Io!" Yukari's Persona attempted to stop it in its tracks with wind but the bursts of wind were not enough.

"Get out of its way!" Shinjiro shouted, before firing his own evoker. Castor charged and attempted to stop the Shadow only to be slammed into a wall and disappeared.

"Ara Mitama!" Akihiko blinked as a green light enveloped him. Suddenly he was hopping from one foot to the other and his muscles grew tenser. Akihiko turned to Minato who moved his head in the direction of the Shadow. Akihiko nodded and made a mad dash.

The Shadow tilted its body and the spike hit the ground, sparks filling the air. Akihiko slid under the arc created by the spike and the Shadow's body. He reached behind it and fired his Persona before the Shadow could reach Minato.

The Shadow paused as it was struck by lightning and turned around. Suddenly it was hit by shards of ice and it turned around again to face Minato who had Apsaras in front of him. The Shadow seemed to realize it was in a bad position and its body glowed red, its mechanical legs' muscles growing.

Before anyone knew it it was charging at Akihiko once again, who tried to stop it with an electric attack like before. Unlike before, the Shadow brushed off the attack with the sparks fusing with its body making it glow a dim yellow.

Realizing he needed to retreat, Akihiko began to run back, still under the buff Minato granted him earlier. Minato followed it swiftly, having casted Sukukaja on himself as well, and stayed close to the wall.

"Akihiko!" Minato shouted, hoping the fleeing boxer could hear him. "Can you make it crash into a wall!"

Akihiko heard him, but didn't respond. Instead he grinned and charged towards a dead end. He could hear the scrapes of metal along the wall because of the spikes. The wall was ahead of him and he ran straight towards it, running up the wall two steps before pushing his legs and leapt backwards. He landed on the Shadows head but quickly jumped off. He didn't see it, but the loud crash made it clear that it worked. He turned around and could hear the footsteps of his teammates approach him. "I've been waiting for this!"

Akihiko led the charge into the downed Shadow and began pummeling it with a barrage of punches. Shinjiro continued to smash its face in with his hammer while Minato delivered a flurry of slashes. Before they knew it, the Shadow was no more, replaced by ichor staining the floor and the wall that didn't even have a dent in it despite being the Shadow's crashing ground.

"That actually worked," Yukari said, eyes wide in surprise before summoning Io to heal them.

Shinjiro was not so amazed. He was already frustrated at how useless he was, and seeing the extremely reckless move Akihiko pulled off only made it worse. "Let's head back down."

Akihiko and Minato were panting from the amount of spells they used, but gave each other a smirk.

When they reached the ground floor, Mitsuru approached Akihiko with a glare. "Are you insane, Akihiko? Your injury from the other night! What were you thinking!"

Akihiko furrowed his brow and crossed his chest. "I was thinking about my life! It was either that, or die."

"Akihiko, consider yourself officially removed from any SEES expeditions until you have received one-hundred percent confirmation from the hospital that your injuries are no longer something to worry about."

"Mitsuru, I'm fine. The spell Minato used helped a lot and Yukari healed me-"

"You probably reopened the wound... Shinjiro, your thoughts?"

"It was pretty stupid. And you," Shinjiro glared at the transfer student was was still standing by the access point. "You actually thought that that was a good idea!?"

Minato opened his mouth but immediately closed it. It worked, but the ends didn't exactly justify the means. But they couldn't afford to be picky, now could they? "What else was there to do? The Shadow powered itself up and using its own strength to our advantage was the best course of action."

"No, the best course of action was a sound retreat," Shinjiro stood in front of Minato, glowering down at him. Minato, to his credit, didn't even flinch. "We needed a variety of magic skills to use. We should have retreated and brought Mitsuru with us and left Aki down here. He would have been a hindrance without your Personas."

"Does how we kill the shadow actually matter?"

"Of course it does." The two turned towards Mitsuru. "It sets a precedent for us. We learn what works, what doesn't. How to approach things, similar to military tactics. Why else do you think we have only four explore the tower at a time, even though we now have five active members. And while Akihiko could have died if he didn't perform that maneouver, he also could have ended up dead if he failed."

"But I didn't-"

"The ends don't justify the means, Akihiko!" Mitsuru snapped before turning to the younger Sanada. "Sanada, please talk some sense into Akihiko."

Miki looked between Mitsuru and Akihiko. "But he…Brother can do anything, so I'm not exactly afraid. And this was far from the most reckless thing he's ever done. But at the same time…"

Mitsuru sighed. "Miki…"

"I agree with them." They all turned towards the previously silent leader. "Akihiko managed to kill the Shadow without sustaining too much injuries, right? I don't think it's a good idea to dwell on this for too long."

Mitsuru narrowed her eyes. "Akihiko nearly died again. Not just him this time, but you, Shinjiro, and Arisato. All because of his and Arisato's actions. If they refuse to reflect on their current actions and actually obey orders-"

"What orders? Last I recall, Shinjiro was standing around doing nothing."

"There wasn't anything I could do!" Shinjiro growled, taking a step forward while Yukari took a step back.

"You said we should have retreated, but I don't remember you giving that order at all. If our field leader is unrespondent then we have to take things into our own hands."

"I may be the field leader, but you're the more experienced one here _and_ the operational leader of SEES! You can give orders too!"

Yukari shuffled and looked down. "…I can't."

"Exactly. Don't go saying shit you can't understand. 'Sides, you didn't do shit either."

Yukari gave Shinjiro her own fierce glare that even made him step back involuntarily. "If you can't handle being the field leader, all you had to do was say so!"

Mitsuru quickly stepped in between Shinjiro and Yukari. "Takeba, being field leader is difficult enough. Don't forget you _need_ us."

Yukari's eyes narrowed before muttering, "So that's how you want to play things?" She shook her head before meeting Mitsuru's glare with her own. "And I'll have no choice but to confiscate your evokers."

Before, Shinjiro would have said he'd be fine with his hammer. But after the Shadow they just fought that made any physical contact useless, he could only grit his teeth.

However Mitsuru gave Yukari a smirk. "Precisely. Shadows are dangerous. We cannot be careless. Which is exactly what Akihiko and Arisato did. I am only concerned for their safety. Is that such a bad thing?"

"If it ends up interfering with how we fight, and more importantly, win, then yes it is, Mitsuru." Mitsuru turned to Akihiko in shock, who in return had a grimace on his face as he faced the ground.

Three seconds and he was looking back up at Mitsuru with determination. "We have to get roughed up to win. For us, getting roughed up is just a bit more extreme."

"A bit?" Shinjiro scoffed and shook his head. "Don't be such a dumbass. If it can be avoided, then we should do everything we can to avoid it. We have to conserve ourselves when access points become few and far between."

Seeing Akihiko, Yukari, and Minato silent, Shinjiro huffed before turning around and leaving the tower. Mitsuru followed him swiftly and Miki followed nervously. Akihiko decided to leave next, not before turning to Minato. "You're not half-bad."

Minato snorted in amusement and Akihiko left, leaving the two juniors alone. "…I really talked a big game, huh?"

Minato raised a brow. "Well, you weren't exactly in the wrong so I don't blame you. But I can't say your reputation is favourable among them."

Yukari let out a hefty sigh. "Hey, don't tell them I told you this, but what do you think about becoming the new field leader?"

Minato blinked in surprise, not expecting that at all. "Why me?"

Yukari turned to the entrance where everyone left. "I've been raised to notice every little detail, y'know? Heck, a lieutenant from the Japanese Self-Defense Force gave me some tips on the field. And habits to look out for. Shinjiro wasn't doing anything because he couldn't do anything to help. He froze."

"Shinjiro…froze?"

Yukari nodded. "He froze up when he failed to stop the Shadow from going after you and Akihiko. He's afraid of death is my guess. It would be his fault after all."

Minato put a hand to his chin. "I see."

"Well, that's what I think. Maybe he froze for another reason. But anyways, we can't have the field leader freezing up like that. It could end a lot worse than that night."

"I agree."

"So?"

"I'll…think about it."

Yukari just nodded and gave him a smile. "Thanks. Well, let's go then."

Minato was about to nod but stopped himself. "Go on ahead without me. We have a few minutes. Want to get used to my Persona ability."

Yukari frowned, not okay with that it seemed. "Alone? I can stay with you until you're done."

Minato shook his head. "Nah, it's just…meditation. It'd be boring for you. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Yukari sighed and walked over to the stairs leading to the entrance to Tartarus. She sat herself down on the first step. "Sorry, I'm not taking any risks."

Minato nodded and walked over to the glowing, blue door in the corner.

But not before looking back at Yukari who was fiddling with her choker. He sighed. "So much for cutting the tension."


End file.
